Kenya faces a significant grain shortage, potentially requiring imports of up to 5 million tonnes of maize and wheat due to severe drought impacting crop yields.

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects a critical maize shortage of 2.2 million tonnes.
• Drought has destroyed nearly half of the grain fields in key producing regions like the North Rift Valley and Western Kenya.
• Kenya may need to import 2.3 million tonnes of maize and 2.6 million tonnes of wheat to cover the deficit.

Pastoralists in Isiolo, Kenya, are transforming their livelihoods through aggregation and diversification, moving from devastating livestock losses to greater resilience.

• The Kenya Livestock Marketing and Resilience (KLMP) Program, supported by Heifer International and the Swedish Embassy, is empowering farmers by teaching them aggregation techniques, fodder production, and financial management.
• Key figure Muhamed Hayota Dadable, who lost all his livestock in a 2010 drought, now benefits from savings through the Nasole Cooperative and learned vital lessons in fodder preservation and livestock aggregation, enabling him to sell larger, combined herds for better prices and store feed for dry seasons.
• The program has expanded to nearly 20,000 participants across five counties, aiming to foster a business-oriented approach to farming and establish stronger market links, including a new slaughterhouse in Isiolo.

African leaders and finance experts at the Climate Finance Nexus Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, have called for innovative financing models to help farmers adopt climate-smart agricultural technologies.

• The primary challenge for Africa is financing existing climate solutions for agriculture, not developing new ones.
• Heifer International convened the forum, highlighting the need to channel more capital into African agriculture.
• A successful model in Uganda's dairy sector, integrating cooperatives, technology providers, processors, and finance, demonstrates how to overcome barriers to investment and attract private capital.

Kenya has sufficient sugar for domestic consumption, with the government emphasizing no need for further imports. This assurance comes amidst a legal challenge to the recent ban on sugar imports.

• Kenya expects to produce approximately 800,000 metric tonnes of sugar by year-end, meeting domestic demand.
• Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe stated the country does not require imported sugar for human use.
• The government banned sugar imports on July 29, 2026, aiming to stabilize prices and reduce reliance on foreign supplies.