Special Paper No. 28 of 2019 on Status of Access to Agri-Finance by Youth and Women in Kenya

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, directly contributing 34.2 per cent of the annual GDP and another 27 per cent indirectly (KNBS, 2019). The agricultural sector is yet to fully exploit the potential of the youth, and the sector has remained largely unattractive for them. The major underlying issues affecting women and youth participation in agriculture include, but are not limited to: lack of access to land, lack of agricultural finance and insurance; lack of knowledge, skills and extension services; low adoption of innovative technologies; and lack of access to markets. It is with this background that this study seeks to establish the baseline on youth and women access to finance with an emphasis on Agri-finance. The findings are outline below: Youth and access to Agri-finance 1. The youth in Kenya have limited access to financial services and products. Only 21 per cent of the youth had access to formal prudential and formal non-prudential services and products. Most of the youth are excluded from financial services and products, specifically 59 per cent in the rural areas and 36 per cent in the urban areas...