Despite highly variable growth rates, agriculture remains a crucial backbone of Kenya’s economy. The sector directly accounts for more than one quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP), 70 percent of rural jobs, 65 percent of exports, and 60 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Consequently, agriculture is vital to Kenya’s economic growth, national food security, and poverty reduction. Yet Kenya’s reliance on smallholder, rain-fed agriculture and its high poverty rates render the country particularly vulnerable to climate risks.
In 2014, the Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) of the World Bank conducted theKenya Agricultural Sector Risk Assessment (PDF) to better understand the dynamics of agricultural risks and identify appropriate responses, incorporate agricultural risk perspective into decision-making, and build capacity of local stakeholders in risk assessment and management. This work highlights major risks facing Kenyan agriculture and identifies pathways toward stronger sector resilience.
