President Ruto Issues First Instructions to Mutahi Kagwe As CS[LIST]

President William Ruto has highlighted four key areas of priority which he expects new Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe to streamline, including the contentious issue of livestock vaccination.

Ruto spoke on Friday, January 17 during the swearing-in of the three newly-appointed Cabinet Secretaries; Mutahi Kagwe, William Kabogo and Lee Kinyanjui, where he emphasised the need for Kagwe to improve the agriculture docket.

While highlighting his time as agriculture minister, Ruto singled out the current stalemate of tea in Mombasa as one area which needed sorting out immediately.

On the issue of crop health, the President revealed that the government had already procured subsidised fertiliser, but tasked Kagwe with ensuring farmers, especially those in the small-scale category, accessed the correct fertiliser for their produce.

Ruto added, “The procurement of fertiliser has been undertaken. I will look to you for leadership on how this fertiliser is going to reach every farmer to make sure we eliminate all impediments and the correct fertiliser gets to every farmer.”

Thirdly, the president spoke about Kenya’s potential to export agricultural products as he singled out his recent trip to the UAE, where a comprehensive economic partnership agreement was reached.

While noting that trade between Kenya and the UAE is nearly KSh370 billion, the President expressed his desire to see Kenya’s international market for dairy and agricultural products grow further.

Ruto urged the new agriculture CS to ensure optimal quality in the standards of agricultural products in the country, which would, in turn, boost Kenya’s credibility in such exports.

Finally, the President lauded Kagwe for his previous work as the Health CS, referencing Kagwe’s famous push for COVID-19 vaccines in 2021. Ruto challenged his new CS to use his past experience to get farmers to comply with the government’s mass livestock vaccination exercise. The president, however, maintained that the vaccination was not mandatory.

“You (Mutahi Kagwe) have what it takes to persuade farmers to take on the vaccination; you have done it before. It is, however, a voluntary exercise and no one will be forced to do anything,” Ruto added

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