The government is considering leasing out the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (PPCK) in what the Ministry of Agriculture says is the only realistic path to reviving a sub-sector that once ranked among the country’s top foreign-exchange earners.
- •Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe told Senators that the Cabinet is set to consider a memorandum seeking approval for the leasing plan, paving the way for a private operator to take over the cash-strapped State firm.
- •Kagwe painted a stark picture of PPCK’s finances, disclosing that the processor generates just KSh35 million annually, rising to KSh60 million in its best years, while carrying a crippling KSh3.5 billion debt load owed to suppliers and in pension arrears.
- •The Government allocated KSh105 million to PPCK in 2024/25 and KSh125 million this year—insufficient to fully restore an industry plagued for years by governance failures and delayed payments.
“There is simply not enough money to sustain the organisation itself,” CS Kagwe told the Senate plenary, adding that the current model cannot deliver the sector’s revival.
The company, he said, has no funding for research and lacks the resources needed to support farmers or sustain operations.
Farmers are currently owed KSh10 million for deliveries made between August and October, funds the Government has committed to settle immediately. A proposal to sell select assets to offset debts stalled after valuation delays, leaving leasing as the only workable option on the table.
The Leasing Plan
Under the proposed plan, the Government will first clean up PPCK’s balance sheet and conduct a fresh valuation of its assets before engaging a private operator. Kagwe said Cabinet approval will unlock a long-term restructuring model similar to those that have revitalised other industries through private capital and expertise.
The CS was responding to questions from Kisumu Senator Prof Tom Ojienda, who sought clarity on the state of pyrethrum farming, market prospects and the future of the sub-sector amid declining production.
Kagwe defended the Government’s broader interventions, saying efforts to revive the sector were beginning to restore confidence. These include distributing millions of clean planting materials (seedlings, tissue-culture plantlets and clonal materials) to counties such as West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nyandarua, Nakuru and Kericho.
He added that the State is promoting public-private partnerships with firms including Botanical Extracts, Kentegra Biotechnology and Africhem Technologies to expand processing and commercialisation of pyrethrin products.
On market access, the CS said the Government was strengthening regulatory compliance through the draft Crops (Pyrethrum) Regulations, 2024 and leveraging Kenya’s membership in the Pyrethrum Joint Venture to meet international standards set by regulators in the US and EU. PPCK has also registered seven pyrethrum-based products targeting animal health, agriculture, public health and industrial use.
