AgricultureID

Country agriculture profile · Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenya

Kenyan agriculture is predominantly smallholder and rainfed, and it remains a backbone of the economy and of rural livelihoods. Farming is sharply shaped by altitude and rainfall: the cooler, wetter central highlands and Rift Valley support tea, coffee, maize and dairy, while the arid and semi-arid lowlands that make up most of the country are dominated by pastoralism. Tea and horticulture — cut flowers, vegetables and fruit — are leading export earners, whereas maize is the key food staple and a recurrent focus of food-security concern. Frequent droughts and variable rainfall make production volatile from one season to the next.

Stable overview + dated statisticsUpdated: 2026-07-12

Farming systems (stable overview)

Climate zones

  • Tropical coast
  • Arid and semi-arid lowlands (ASALs)
  • Temperate central highlands
  • Equatorial (altitude-moderated)

Agroecological zones

  • High-potential tea and coffee highlands
  • Rift Valley cereal and dairy zone
  • Arid and semi-arid pastoral rangelands
  • Coastal lowland cropping

Dominant crop systems

  • Smallholder rainfed maize, the dominant food staple, across the highlands and Rift Valley
  • Tea grown in the cooler highlands, a leading export from both smallholders and estates
  • Arabica coffee in the central highlands
  • Export horticulture — cut flowers, vegetables and fruit — around the highlands and Rift Valley lakes
  • Smallholder mixed cropping integrating staples, legumes and cash crops

Major livestock systems

  • Extensive pastoral and agro-pastoral cattle, goats, sheep and camels in the arid and semi-arid lands
  • Smallholder dairy cattle in the highlands, often zero-grazing or mixed with cropping
  • Smallholder poultry and small ruminants throughout the farmed areas

Irrigation: Irrigation is limited and concentrated in public schemes (such as Mwea for rice) and in export horticulture; the great majority of cropping is rainfed and exposed to erratic rainfall, especially in the arid and semi-arid lands.

Latest verified data

Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.

Latest available agricultural indicators, with year and unit
IndicatorValueUnitYear
Agricultural land49.53% of land area2023
Arable land11.42% of land area2023
Cereal yield1,757.5kg per hectare2023
Agriculture value added22.44% of GDP2024
Employment in agriculture(est.)46.5% of total employment2024
Rural population68.11% of total population2024
Fertilizer consumption50.46kg per hectare of arable land2023
Irrigated agricultural land0.96% of agricultural land2023

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Cereal yield over time

201220182023
Kenya — Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Bars start at zero.
Show data table
Kenya — Cereal yield in kg per hectare by year
Yearkg per hectare
20121,744.8
20131,661.5
20141,583.4
20151,772.7
20161,383.1
20171,426
20181,709.2
20191,604.7
20201,842.6
20211,522.4
20221,477.4
20231,757.5

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Derived indicator

Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 23.1 % of agricultural land (2023)

Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (11.4) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (49.5). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.

Documented crops & livestock

Agricultural institutions

  • Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) — National coordinating body for crop and livestock research.
  • International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) — CGIAR livestock research centre headquartered in Nairobi.
  • Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) — State regulator for scheduled crops such as tea, coffee and horticulture.

Data coverage & limitations

Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.

  • Statistics are dated, versioned and periodically revised as new survey results arrive.
  • National definitions and crop categories differ from those used elsewhere, limiting cross-country comparison.
  • Heavy dependence on rainfed smallholder systems makes output highly sensitive to rainfall and drought.
  • Pastoral production in the arid and semi-arid lands is inherently difficult to measure precisely.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]World Bank Open Data — World Development Indicators (opens in a new tab)

    World Bank

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Production, land use and food-balance context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12