Thursday 05th March, 2026 05:06 PM|
Kisumu County has been selected to pilot a new financial tracking initiative aimed at exposing how much money actually flows into Kenya’s food systems and whether those investments are delivering results.
The pilot, led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, seeks to strengthen transparency and accountability in agriculture and nutrition financing at the county level.
Speaking during the inception workshop in Kisumu, GAIN Country Director Ruth Okowa said the Financial Flows Tracking for Food Systems initiative will measure how much funding goes into agriculture, storage infrastructure, value chains and nutrition-related interventions.
“We are looking at how resources move within the food system, how much is invested, where it is invested, and whether those investments are aligned to food and nutrition security outcomes,” Okowa said.
Kisumu has been chosen as the pilot county, with the expectation that lessons learned will inform a nationwide rollout across the remaining 46 counties.
The initiative is part of the County-Led Food Systems Transformation through Advancing Financial Tracking and Capacity Enhancement for Scalable Investments Project (COFFCI), which builds on earlier institutional assessments conducted jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
According to Okowa, Kenya invested approximately USD 6.5 billion in food systems between 2019 and 2022, with annual spending averaging between USD 1.4 and 1.5 billion.
About 75 per cent of that financing came from domestic resources, with 56 per cent directed to agriculture, value chains and infrastructure.
While this signals national commitment, she noted that county-level financial tracking remains weak.
A diagnostic study conducted between 2024 and 2025 identified gaps, including fragmented data systems, limited financial tracking tools, weak coordination mechanisms and insufficient human resource capacity.
“These weaknesses constrain transparency and limit counties’ ability to design bankable, high-impact food systems initiatives,” Okowa said.
She emphasised that financial tracking alone would not be sufficient without strengthening institutional coordination, technical expertise and performance monitoring systems.
Through the pilot, Kisumu’s finance and planning teams will work closely with technical experts to test methodologies that could later be replicated across the country.
FAO Assistant Country Representative Williams Hamisi said the broader conversation in Kenya has shifted toward comprehensive food systems transformation rather than treating food and nutrition security as isolated issues.
“There is a need to look at food and nutrition security as a system where every unit must function effectively,” Hamisi said.
He pointed out that funding gaps remain a key challenge in the agriculture sector.
budgetary constraints
According to Hamisi, countries are encouraged to allocate at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture in line with continental commitments.
“This is the only way we will achieve food and nutrition security by ensuring that all the units that make up a system are working,” he said.
Hamisi urged counties to adopt the financial tracking tool to better understand money flows, measure impact and make evidence-based investment decisions.
“I must note that we are very proud of Kisumu County because it took a bold step to share information to support decision-making,” he added.
Kisumu County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture Kenneth Onyango acknowledged that budgetary constraints remain a major hurdle.
Currently, the county allocates between two and three per cent of its budget to agriculture, far below the recommended 10 per cent.
“With such limited allocation, it is difficult to achieve the scale of transformation required in the sector,” Onyango said.
He stressed the need for county-specific programming frameworks, arguing that national templates often fail to address local realities.
Kisumu’s selection as a pilot county, he said, reflects ongoing efforts to reform its food systems, including the implementation of the Kisumu County Food Systems Strategy (2023–2027).
The strategy is anchored on inclusivity, sustainability and evidence-based planning and is coordinated through the Food Liaison Advisory Council of Kisumu (FLACK).
Under the county’s broader agri-nutrition agenda, the multi-sectoral nutrition coordination mechanism was established to integrate nutrition-sensitive programming across departments.
Financial flow tracking
Onyango said strengthening financial flow tracking would help identify financing gaps and optimise resource allocation across agriculture, nutrition, infrastructure and environmental interventions.
The county has already recruited 114 agricultural extension officers, improving the extension staff-to-farmer ratio from 1:7000 to 1:1800 in a bid to boost productivity.
Plans are also underway to establish Pap Konam Agricultural Training College in collaboration with Bukura Agricultural College to build a pipeline of skilled agricultural professionals.
Additionally, the e-voucher subsidy programme is supporting farmers with access to subsidised inputs such as fertiliser.
Despite these gains, stakeholders acknowledged that sustainable transformation will depend on stronger governance systems and more predictable financing.
As the pilot begins, Kisumu now carries the responsibility of testing whether transparent financial tracking can turn policy commitments into measurable food security outcomes.
If successful, the model could redefine how counties across Kenya plan, finance and evaluate investments in food systems, shifting the conversation from how much is spent to how effectively it is spent.
