Analysis on the State of the Nation Address, 20th November 2025
President Ruto’s Farm Revolution:- Hits, Misses and the Missing Piece of Agroecology.
President William Ruto’s 2025 State of the Nation Address positioned agriculture as the “fulcrum of our transformation agenda,”rightfully crediting a strategic pivot to production subsidies for significant, measurable gains in food security and a crucial drop in the cost of living. The administration’s approach yielded clear results: the flagship fertiliser subsidy program successfully distributed over 21 million bags, saving farmers an estimated KSh 105 billion. This investment is directly linked to the national maize production surging from 44 million bags in 2022 to a projected 70 million bags in 2025. Further, the President demonstrated a strong commitment to climate adaptation, acknowledging the limits of rain-fed agriculture by committing to bring 2.5 million acres under irrigation and constructing at least 50 mega dams over the next few years. In terms of efficiency and reform, the digital registration of over 7.1 million farmers through the KIAMIS platform is a major hit, ensuring subsidies are targeted and helping to dismantle market cartels across key value chains, boosting farmer incomes and advancing the goal of agro-industrialisation.
Despite these crucial victories, the speech revealed a fundamental gap in its vision for holistic food systems transformation and agroecology. The continuous emphasis on chemical fertiliser subsidies overshadows the need for investment in long-term soil health management and biodiversity. This high-input, industrial approach risks becoming a long-term liability, a point compounded by the President’s failure to recognize recent landmark progress within his own government. Notably, the address made no reference to the 2025 withdrawal of 77 toxic pesticides and restrictions on 202 others; a monumental move that aligned Kenya with global norms by prohibiting the registration of products banned in their countries of origin. This omission is paralleled by the failure to champion the National Agroecology Strategy for Food System Transformation (NAS-FST) 2024-2033, a foundational document guiding counties towards creating a sustainable, resilient and inclusive food system. Further, in the context of the ongoing global dialogue leading up to COP 30, the President missed a vital opportunity to reinforce the nation’s commitment to climate action by referencing our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan (NBSAP) 2019-2030. These policy silences undermine the administration’s own stated goals of climate-smart agriculture and ecosystem preservation, preventing the system from achieving true climate-smart resilience.
For the next phase of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), a strategic pivot is necessary to embed sustainability and resilience alongside the proven production gains. Lawmakers must first move quickly to harmonise conflicting Bills (like the Plant Protection Bill,Plant and Seeds Varieties Amendment bill and the Finance Act changes regarding VAT) to provide farmers with regulatory certainty and affordable inputs. Concurrently, the state should strategically shift its subsidy structure to include organic soil amendments and soil-testing vouchers, ensuring that public investment fosters long-term soil health, not just short-term yields. Finally, there must be a strong commitment to mainstream agroecology by adequately funding and utilizing the NAS-FST to scale up Farmer-to-Farmer Extension models, promoting practices like agroforestry, intercropping and decentralized water harvesting. These integrated, water-smart and diverse systems are the ultimate path to a secure and sustainable food future for all Kenyans.
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