CS nominee Kagwe says to make agriculture ‘cool’ among Kenyan youth

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Mutahi Kagwe on Tuesday vowed to make farming “cool” among Kenyan youth if approved as minister, saying it is currently a “boring” venture.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments at Parliament buildings in Nairobi, Kagwe said agriculture needs to be made attractive to the youth by incorporating new developments in the sector such as financial technology (fintech) and artificial intelligence (AI) in training modules.

“Agriculture has to be made cool for the youth to embrace it. It is too boring currently and needs to include technology and new ways of doing things. We will work with the education ministry to revamp how we train agriculture students,” Kagwe told lawmakers.

He said he would collaborate with other ministries to make sure farmers earn more profits.

Kagwe said he would improve the ministry’s communication plan to counter disinformation around government initiatives in the ministry, some of which have been met with backlash by Kenyans online.

The government’s push for mass livestock vaccination, for instance, has been thorny among Kenyans and various local organisations. President William Ruto and several government officials have blamed the uproar on disinformation.

“I will use the same social media where a lot of disinformation has been taking place and work with the fourth estate to dissemination to Kenyans,” Kagwe said, citing his time as Health CS during the coronavirus pandemic when he became known for his daily press briefings.

Kagwe holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce (insurance) from the University of Nairobi and an MBA from the United States International University.

In addition to serving as Health CS under former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration for two years, he was also the minister for Information Communication and Technology (ICT) during former President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure.

He was also Nyeri County’s first senator from 2013 to 2017.

If approved, Kagwe will take over the agriculture docket from Andrew Karanja, whom Ruto nominated as Kenya's ambassador to Brazil.