Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has stated that Kenya’s tea, coffee, edible oil and sugar sectors have recorded growth over the past three years, with increased production, expanded acreage and improved earnings for farmers.

Presenting the 2026/27 Budget Statement in Parliament on Thursday, June 11, 2026, Mbadi linked the gains to government interventions aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and farmer incomes across key value chains.

The CS said tea production rose to 550.4 million kilograms in 2025 from 535.04 million kilograms in 2022, while export earnings increased from Ksh163.3 billion to Ksh187.1 billion during the same period.

“Tea production has grown to 550.4 million kilograms in 2025 from 535.04 million kilograms in 2022, while tea export earnings rose significantly to Ksh187.1 billion from Ksh163.3 billion over the same period,” Mbadi said.

Reviving coffee sector

Mbadi also noted that the government has intensified efforts to revive the coffee subsector through the distribution of millions of coffee seedlings and the rehabilitation of ageing plantations.

According to Mbadi, the government distributed 85,000 coffee seedlings in the 2023/24 financial year, 809,710 seedlings in 2024/25 and 3.13 million seedlings in 2025/26.

An additional 2.24 million seedlings were distributed under the March-May 2026 long rains programme.

“To support rehabilitation of ageing plantations and expansion of coffee acreage, the Government distributed coffee seedlings progressively across the years,” he said.

As a result, the area under coffee cultivation expanded to 115,500 hectares in 2025, up from 109,385 hectares in 2022. Mbadi further reported growth in the edible oils subsector, saying the area under edible oil crops nearly doubled to 114,350 hectares in 2025 from 60,000 hectares in 2022.

The increase, he said, reflects growing farmer participation and investment in the sector as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on imported edible oils.

Sugar industry

The sugar industry also registered notable gains following government reforms and support programmes.

“Mr. Speaker, interventions under the sugar sector have led to significant growth in both cane production and processing capacity, with the area under sugarcane cultivation increasing by 19.4 per cent and national sugar production rising 20 per cent to 815,454 metric tonnes in 2024 from 472,773 metric tonnes in 2022,” Mbadi stated.