This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
Women in Kenya's agriculture sector face significant barriers in accessing loans, with the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) citing land ownership as a major obstacle.
According to a report by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), women account for only 25% of the total AFC loan book, despite being the largest workforce in agriculture.
The AFC has revealed that it needs approximately 20 billion shillings to effectively lend farmers to engage in the agriculture value chain, but is currently only able to lend 3 billion shillings due to capital challenges.
As the AFC seeks to transform into a commercial bank to attract more financing, the ministry of agriculture has earmarked 2 billion shillings to be invested in the e-voucher system in 11 counties, aimed at increasing investment in agriculture.
By dropping land as collateral for loans, the AFC hopes to increase the amount accessed by women, who are often unable to secure loans due to lack of land ownership.
Franklin Bett, chair of the AFC, stated that the corporation is at its final stage of transformation, and is working to increase lending to farmers.
