The farming business in Kenya is not only growing to be something larger than a farming business, but a source of innovation, business, and economic change.

The government has placed agribusiness at the centre of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) that aims at transforming traditional subsistence farming to a profitable enterprise. It has now been focusing on productivity and value addition in the value chain.

This new move opens opportunity to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) especially youth and rural-based enterprises.

They are exploring new business areas like food processing, branding and direct marketing which is offering these businesses new sources of income and employment opportunities.

Already, agriculture is producing 20 percent of Kenya GDP and has also been established to be absorbing more than 40 percent of the national labour. What is more, it indirectly sustains over 80 percent of the population.

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However, it has its prospects and challenges that the smallholding farmers still face. Modern farm inputs, credit and timely market information are in limited supply. These are obstacles to development and participation of the youth.

Some support organizations are emerging in an effort to bridge the gap by providing skills, networks and information to the farmers and the agro-entrepreneurs.

Such programs help to bring them to markets, purchasers and finance companions- which are instrumental in establishment of agribusinesses that are sustainable.

Issues like poor mechanization, poor infrastructure and investments are still bedeviling the sector. However, the vision is clear, agribusiness is a strategic process to inclusive growth.

It is complementary to Kenya Vision 2030 and also to the priorities in BETA and it offers a good foundation of job creation and rural development.

The new generation of Kenyans has a good opportunity of leading this revolution; in the farms, in the agri-factories, and in the food markets; particularly in creativity and the world of digital technologies.