2025/26 KENYA CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE (KCA)
The 2025/26 Kenya Census of Agriculture is a nationwide data collection exercise conducted by KNBS in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to collect data on the structure of agricultural holdings across the country, covering land tenure, land use, crop area, livestock numbers, aquaculture, fisheries, labour, and other agricultural inputs. Agriculture directly contributes about 24 per cent to Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product, and about 72 per cent of the population derives its livelihood directly or indirectly from the sector, making reliable, disaggregated agricultural data central to the country’s overall growth and development.
Kenya has never conducted a comprehensive census of agriculture since independence. Annual censuses of large farms were carried out until the early 1990s before being discontinued due to funding constraints, and while the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census introduced an agriculture module covering crops, livestock, aquaculture, and fisheries, it captured only the household farming sector and excluded commercial and institutional holdings. The KCA closes this long-standing data gap by providing, for the first time, a complete structural picture of agricultural holdings disaggregated to lower administrative units.
Data from the census will provide benchmarks for improving crop and livestock statistics, generate sampling frames for future agricultural surveys, and support Kenya’s alignment with the Global Strategy for Improving Agricultural and Rural Statistics. It will inform public policy analysis and resource allocation decisions, support monitoring and evaluation of agricultural policies and programmes, and facilitate tracking of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.