- Crop prodcution accounted for 70.7% of the GVA in 2023
- Maize is the most produced foood crop in Kenya, widely consumed by households
- Irish potato is the second most produced in Kenya after maize
- The agricultural sector contributed 21.8% to the national GDP in 2023.
- The list of the most produced food crops in kenya is the courtesy of KBNS.
The agricultural sector is the leading contributor to Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the food basket backbone, with surplus production often exported. The most produced food crops in Kenya are driven by their high demand, including cereals,pulse and root crops.
The agricultural sector accounted for 21.8% of Kenya’s GDP in 2023. Crop production in Kenya is determined by the weather conditions, which often interfere with the physiological development of the crop. This due to the country’s high dependance on rain, which is often interfere with crop production.
Crop prodcution in Kenya is primarily influenced by the tropical climate with disticnt wet and dry seasons, featuring two main growing periods; longs rains season from March to May; and short rains from October to November.
Kenya’s highland ares eperince more temperate conditions, while the lowlands are often hot and dry, allowing for diverse crop prodcution. Drought resitant crops such as soghum perfoms well in semi arid areas compared to, potatoes which requuires a relatively medium to higher rainfal.
Crop production also shows a regional disparity, as some places experience constant dormancy with fewer activities in agriculture, while some regions are known to produce certain crops in volumes leading to manufacturing and exportation.
The National Agriculture Production Report compiled by National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the Mininistry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for the last five years (2019-2023) shows tha crop prdocution accounted for 70.7% of the Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2023.
The area under food crop farming alos expanded from 4,935.3 thousand heactrars in 2022 to 5, 371.7 thousand hectatre in 2023. General crop prodcution also increased from 8.5 million tonneds to 10.7 million tonnes in 2023. This is largely attributed to favorable weather conditions, government fertilizer subsidies, and increased investmenr in the sector by the provate sector, the report indicates.
The report shows that maize if the most produced food crop in Kenya, feeding major households both in the rural and urban areas. The area uunder maize cultivation expanded from 2,113.5 thousand hectare in 2022 to 2,430.0 thousand hectares in 2023. This resulted to an increased prodcution of 4,285,206 tonnes in 2023, up from 3,087,520 tonnes in 2022.
The report also shows that irish potatoes are the second most cultivated crop in Kenya after, widely consumed by majorly households in Kenya. Iris potatoes production increased from 523,324 tonnes in 2022 to 657,091 tonnes in 2023. The slight increament is attributed to improved rainfall recived in 2023, promotion of potato value chain through prograns, easy access to certified seeds, higher-yielding varieties, opening of new lands and favoriabled prices, the report indicated.
Both maize and potato icreaed thier total value; from Ksh 65.4 billion in 2022 to Ksh 65.9 billion in 2023 for irish potator, while that of the maize increased from Ksh 179.7 billion in 2022 to Ksh 180.8 billion in 2023.
