Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy making the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development crucial in the day-to-day operations of the government.
Currently, the docket is divided into two state departments namely the State Department for Agriculture and the State Department for Livestock Development.
President William Ruto appointed former Meru Senator Mithika Linturi as Agriculture Cabinet Secretary after the 2022 election.
As CS, Linturi leads the formulation, implementation and monitoring of agricultural legislations, regulations, and policies.
The Ministry also supports agricultural research and represents agricultural state corporations in the government among other functions.
Three individuals served as Agriculture Minister before independence while 18 others have held the position between 1963 and today.
Ruto’s Tenure at Kilimo House
President Ruto is among the people who have steered the agriculture docket in the course of Kenya’s post-independence history.
Ruto served as Minister for Agriculture during the Grand Coalition government led by then President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
He was then a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party and the Member of Parliament for Eldoret North.
Ruto held this position up to April 2010 when he was transferred to the Higher Education Ministry before he was relieved of his ministerial duties in August 2011.
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In 2013, he joined forces with then Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta under the Jubilee Alliance Coalition.
Uhuru won the elections and served for two terms with Ruto as his deputy.
Differences emerged between the duo and Ruto moved to form the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
He contested for the presidency in the 2022 general elections and won against Raila who had the backing of Uhuru.
Ruto is serving his second year as president with Rigathi Gachagua as his deputy.
Musalia Mudavadi
Musalia Mudavadi first became an MP in 1989 and was at the time the youngest serving Minister in Kenyan history.
He was elected unopposed in a by-election to take the Sabatia Constituency seat vacated by his deceased father Moses Mudamba Mudavadi.
Mudavadi went on to win the seat in the 1992 and 1997 general elections.
Mudavadi served as Agriculture between 1997 and 1999 before he was later moved to the Transport Communications and Information Department.
As Minister for Agriculture, he was responsible for the enactment of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Act that created local farmer ownership of Tea Factories.
During his tenure, Mudavadi efficiently regulated imports, created KESREF to enhance research, and oversaw the privatization of Mumias.
He later served as Vice-President in 2002 and also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government of the Republic of Kenya during the Coalition government between 2008 and 2013.
He contested for the presidency in 2013 but came in third behind Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga.
In the run up to the 2022 elections, Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) joined Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
He is the current Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Foreign and Diaspora CS.
Munya’s as Agriculture CS
Peter Munya assumed the office as Agriculture CS on January 14, 2020, after then-President Uhuru Kenyatta reshuffled the cabinet.
He led the docket until President Ruto announced his cabinet in 2022 when he handed over to CS Linturi.
Munya served as Trade CS and the CS for East African Community and Northern Corridor Development during Uhuru’s second tenure.
He served as Tigania MP for ten years before being elected the first governor of Meru County in 2013.
During the Coalition government, he served as assistant Minister of East African Community and Assistant Minister of Internal Security and Provincial Administration.
Munya currently serves as the Party of National Unity (PNU) Party Leader and remains affiliated with the Azimio Coalition.
In January 2024, Munya announced that PNU will conduct aggressive grassroots programmes across the country ahead of the 2027 elections.
Mwangi Kiunjuri
Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri served in different capacities during Uhuru’s two terms.
He was appointed Agricultures CS in 2018 but was axed by President Uhuru in January 2022.
Kiunjuri focused on popularizing his party ‘The Service Party’ (TSP) in readiness for the 2022 elections.
He joined the Kenya Kwanza Alliance as a co-principal and was even listed as one of the favorite candidates to deputize Ruto in the presidential race.
Kiunjuri served as Tigania East MP between 1997 and 2013.
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During this period, he served as assistant minister in the ministry of Water, Public Works, and Energy.
He also served as the CS for Devolution before he was appointed CS Agriculture. One of the standout moments in his time in the agriculture docket was his response to a locust invasion on Kenyan farms in 2020.
In response to the piling pressure on his Ministry, Kinjuri appealed to Kenyans to share photos of insects resembling the locusts to spark a controversy amid the unease in some quarters over slow response to the food security threat.
Felix Koskei
In 2013, Uhuru appointed Felix Koskei into Jubilee’s first cabinet as the CS of Agriculture.
However, Koskei’s appointment ended prematurely in March 2015 when he was suspended from office over corruption allegations.
He currently serves as the government’s Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service.
Willy Kipkorir Bett
Ambassador Willy Kipkorir Bett succeeded Koskei as Agriculture CS in 2015.
Before his appointment, he was the Chief Executive Officer at the Kenya Seed Company between 2009 and 2015.
Uhuru appointed Bett as Kenya’s envoy to India after the 2017 general election, a position he held throughout Jubilee’s second tenure.
Ruto named Bett as his envoy to China when he reshuffled and reconstituted the Cabinet in October 2023.
Sally Kosgei
Dr Sally Jepng’etich Kosgei succeeded Ruto as the Minister of Agriculture during a reshuffle in the coalition government back in 2010.
In 2007, Kosgei who was a close ally to late President Daniel Moi contested for Aldai Constituency seat through the ODM party and won.
She was later named the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology before switching positions with Ruto.
Kosgei lost her parliamentary seat in 2013 and stayed out of the political scene.
She is the current Chancellor of Taita Taveta University.
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