The National Treasury has released a total of Ksh.3.5 billion to the sugar, tea, and coffee sectors as a first and part of the government’s post-pandemic stimulus package.
This follows a directive which was issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta during his Mashujaa Day Celebration speech last year.
The first disbursement of Ksh.1.035 billion was disbursed to tea farmers on November 17 to subsidize the cost of fertilizer.
Another Ksh.1.5 billion was expended to the sugar sector for restructuring, sugar factory maintenance and payment of farmer’s arrears on November 25.
The share to the coffee sector was the last to be disbursed this year on January 4.
The funds are part of the larger Ksh.25 billion that President Kenyatta set aside for the post-COVID-19 stimulus package.
In the president’s last full financial year, the emphasis is clearly on finalising ongoing investments and creating a suitable environment for economic recovery to safeguard livelihoods.
The sector contributes 34 percent to Gross Domestic Product having recorded a relatively stronger performance than other sectors of the economy that have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
In the current fiscal year, the Treasury allocated 2.4 percent to agriculture to be administered by the central government, an increase on previous year’s 2.2 percent allocation.
