Ruto: Kenya on track for record maize harvest
By Kenneth Mwenda, September 4, 2025President William Ruto has said that Kenya is set for a record maize harvest this year. He spoke on Thursday, September 4, 2025, at the Mombasa Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Show.
Ruto explained that government programmes had helped farmers lower costs and increase yields.
“Through the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme, we have disbursed and distributed more than 21 million bags of affordable fertiliser, saving farmers 105 billion shillings and cutting fertiliser prices by nearly two-thirds,” he said.
He gave a clear picture of the savings.
“To put it in context, for every 1,000 that farmers were spending on fertiliser before, they are now spending only 330 shillings. That is the true impact of the subsidy programme,” Ruto told the gathering.
Subsidy spurs record harvest
The President linked the subsidy to higher food production.
“This has boosted maize harvests from 44 million bags in 2022 to 67 million bags last year, reducing our maize imports by 70 percent,” he stated.
In this year’s long rains, farmers received close to 7 million bags of fertiliser and 35 million kilos of certified seed. He noted that this was a sharp rise compared to previous years. He added:
“We are now on course for a record harvest of 70 million bags this year.”
Looking ahead, Ruto promised to scale up support to farmers.
“In 2026, we plan to distribute 12.5 million bags of fertiliser, nearly double the amount distributed this year, across the whole country in all the 1,450 wards, ensuring that every farmer in every corner of Kenya has access to affordable inputs,” he said.
Tea farming has also shown strong progress. According to Ruto, production has grown by 12 per cent while earnings jumped 40 per cent, from Ksh154 billion in 2022 to Ksh215 billion in 2024.
“Muhimu zaidi hela zinazofikia wakulima zimeongezeka huku bei ya kilo moja ya majani chai ikiongezeka kutoka shillingi hamsini hadi shillingi sitini na nne,” Ruto said, stressing that more money is reaching farmers directly.