State bets on new drive to lure more youth into agriculture

The government is banking on a new ambitious programme to lure many youths into agriculture.

Dubbed Transforming Ecosystems for Jobs in Agriculture through Technology and Innovation (TEJATI), it is also expected to create 3.5 million jobs annually over the next five years.

It also aims to raise $50 million (Sh6.5 billion) annually in funding, with 150 strategic partners already behind the programme.

The programme has been designed to support the government in its drive to create more jobs for the youthful population and attract them into agriculture, improve food productivity, ensure an eco-friendly agricultural practice, and create value across the agriculture value chain.

This will be through new business models and services while taking the people out of poverty and enabling economic growth and diversification.

Among key priority crops targeted under the programme are rice, tea, cotton, and edible oil, along with food security crops like maize, beans, and potatoes.

The National Programme Coordinator and Contact Lead for TEJATI Emma Murangiri said it is about transforming ecosystems for jobs in agriculture through technology and innovation.

“One of the things that we've been doing and we're proud to have done and continue to do as a country, especially through the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Development, is to transform ecosystems in agriculture for jobs. We are keen to ensure that the ecosystems work,” said Ms Murangiri.

She added: “But now, there is a difference between transforming ecosystems for jobs in agriculture and transforming ecosystems in agriculture for jobs. What this means is that when we transform ecosystems in agriculture, it means we have been enabling the agriculture ecosystems to operate.”

Ms Murangiri was speaking last week during the TEJATI Festival 2025 at the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) dome in Nairobi.

She said TEJATI is inter-ministerial with 13 ministries involved with the Agriculture Ministry being the convener. The initiative will operate under the public-private partnership model.

“It is a co-funded platform or programme where the government, development partners and also the private sector have their stake in it. Launched on November 29, 2024, it is going through some final phases of formation. We hope to officially launch it in March,” said Ms Murangiri.

She explained that the programme will utilise school ecosystems, targeting 24,000 public primary schools.

Some schools will be clustered in three levels; these are the schools within the production, distribution and consumption hubs depending on their location and nature.

“For schools in the urban centres where there is no land to farm, they can only be a consumption hub, while those with land can be production hubs. Some schools near the road will act as distribution hubs,” she said.

One of the private sector partners in the programme will be YARA, which will offer digital solutions and soil health improvement interventions.