A group of agripreneurs contracted under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) in Kisii County have raised concerns over unpaid dues, months after delivering on their responsibilities.
The project, funded by the World Bank and implemented through the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with county governments, aimed to empower smallholder farmers and streamline agricultural data collection and support.
In Kisii, agripreneurs were enlisted to carry out key activities such as farmer registration and updates to local SACCO structures.
While the programme was rolled out in 33 counties, agripreneurs in Kisii report being the only ones yet to receive payment, despite having completed their assignments under difficult conditions.
They accuse the county government of breaching contract terms and failing to provide transparency around the delayed payments.
The project, which began earlier this year, was reportedly called off in its third month, leaving participants unpaid and in limbo.
The agripreneurs are now demanding accountability from county leadership, questioning why funds reportedly disbursed to the Ministry of Agriculture have not reached them.
They insist that the work was done, and justice delayed is justice denied.
“Good morning, Nyakundi. Kisii County government, in collaboration with WORLD BANK, came up with a project through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Production under NAVCDP. It was launched across 33 counties in Kenya through the National Government to County Government. The project could benefit basically small-scale farmers and the formation of SACCOs where WORLD BANK could dispatch GRANTS with the help of some AGRIPRENEURS who could assist the farmers in registration of new farmers and updating the existing ones. The programme was sub-divided into three key stages where each AGRIPRENEUR could be paid according to the contract:
BOOTCAMP (2 MONTHS) 10k
INCUBATION (10 MONTHS) 15k
COMMERCIALIZATION (6 MONTHS) 5k
The programme kicked off in February. Although the county government didn’t adhere to the contract agreement on payment, they breached the contract agreement—they didn’t pay the AGRIPRENEURS according to the contract. After further consultation, they agreed, although in the third month of the project, the project was called off and the AGRIPRENEURS were never paid during the month of May.
Why is Kisii County denying the AGRIPRENEURS their peanuts yet they worked mercilessly? Other 32 counties have paid—why is only Kisii County having problems when it comes to payment? AGRIPRENEURS demand to know why they haven’t been paid since May, and the funds were received early enough by the Ministry of Agriculture.”
