Kenya: Government to establish multi-value chain cooperatives in every ward
NAIROBI, February 9, 2026 — The Kenyan Government is in the process of establishing a multi-value chain cooperative in every ward across the country to serve as delivery centres for subsidised agricultural inputs.
The proposed multi-value chain cooperatives will handle at least two commodities. This approach is intended to address challenges faced by farmers who are often forced to join multiple cooperatives in order to access services for different commodities.
The initiative was disclosed by Royford Murangiri, one of the facilitators, during a recently concluded sensitisation workshop on Monitoring, Evaluation and Tracking of National Government Programmes and Presidential Directives held in Olkalou, Nyandarua County, on Saturday.
Murangiri noted that, in addition to establishing ward-level cooperatives, the government plans to empower each cooperative to operate its own Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation [SACCO].
He further revealed that the establishment of ward aggregation centres is underway. These centres will act as collection points for farm produce and, to some extent, provide value addition services.
“Commodities that cannot be value-added at the ward aggregation centres will be upscaled to County Aggregation and Industrial Parks [CAIPs] for processing,” Murangiri said. He added that the CAIPs will also link farmers to buyers and processors, while ward cooperatives and aggregation centres will serve as the closest points of contact for farmers.
To enhance the quality of agricultural production, Murangiri stated that the government is training agripreneurs. He noted that 175 entrepreneurs have already been trained in Nyandarua County, with plans to train more in other specialised areas, including animal health.
“Most of the trained entrepreneurs are young people. The government is deliberately targeting the youth to promote employment, and they will play a key role in linking farmers to ward cooperatives,” he said.
On risk mitigation, Murangiri explained that the government intends to deploy modern tools such as crop and livestock insurance based on satellite technology. Unlike conventional insurance, this system will monitor weather conditions in real time and provide timely information to farmers to help them minimise losses caused by adverse climatic conditions.
Other risk management measures include contract farming and guaranteed minimum returns, which he said would enable farmers to operate without fear of losses.
Murangiri also urged farmers across the country to register on the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Management Information System [KIAMIS] in order to access farm input subsidies, livestock vaccines, extension services, affordable insurance and reliable market linkages.
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