The East Africa Agriculture Almanac
A working directory of the government ministries, research institutes, regulators and commodity authorities that steer farming across the East African Community — compiled for the Kilimokwanza diary.
The Regional Architecture
Pan-EAC
Above the national ministries sit the bodies that harmonise policy, trade and research across borders — the natural starting point for any regional agriculture story.
East African Community — Secretariat
The intergovernmental bloc now uniting eight Partner States — Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It drives the Common Market, harmonised standards (including SPS measures) and the regional food-security and agricultural policy agenda.
ASARECA
A not-for-profit inter-governmental body created in 1994 and owned by the National Agricultural Research Institutes of its member states. It co-ordinates regional research, technology scaling and climate-smart agriculture across Eastern and Central Africa.
Kenya
kilimo.go.ke
A devolved system: the national ministry sets policy and regulation while the 47 county governments implement on the ground. Below are the national pillars.
Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock Development
The apex policy body for crops, livestock and food and nutrition security, established under Executive Order No. 1 of 2023. Works through State Departments for Agriculture and for Livestock Development.
Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organisation
The premier national research body, created under the 2013 Act by merging KARI and the coffee, tea and sugar research foundations. Oversees institutes spanning food crops, horticulture, livestock, land and water management.
Agriculture & Food Authority
The state corporation that regulates and develops scheduled crops through its directorates — tea, coffee, sugar, horticulture, food crops, fibre, nuts and oils, pyrethrum and miraa.
Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service
The national plant protection organisation. Assures plant health, phytosanitary certification for exports, seed certification, plant variety protection and the quality of agricultural inputs and produce.
Tanzania
kilimo.go.tz
Tanzania splits the sector across two ministries — crops under the Ministry of Agriculture, and animals and fisheries under a dedicated ministry — both now seated in the capital, Dodoma.
Ministry of Agriculture
Responsible for crop production, food security, co-operatives and irrigation policy. The lead ministry behind the BBT youth-in-agriculture drive and the national fertiliser and seed programmes.
Ministry of Livestock & Fisheries
Manages and develops the livestock and fisheries resources — animal health, range management, dairy, meat and the blue economy — sustainably and for food safety.
Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute
Established by Act No. 10 of 2016 as the semi-autonomous body co-ordinating all agricultural research, with a national network of centres (e.g. Naliendele for cashew, oilseeds and roots/tubers).
Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute
Established under the Seeds Act No. 18 of 2003 to certify and promote quality of seed produced in or imported into the country.
Tanzania Fertiliser Regulatory Authority
Regulates the fertiliser trade — registration, quality control and the bulk-procurement system credited with expanding national fertiliser use.
Agricultural Seed Agency
A government agency (Executive Agencies Act, 1997) charged with producing and supplying certified and improved seed to farmers nationwide.
Uganda
agriculture.go.ug
A single ministry covers crops, animals and fisheries from Entebbe. Note: under the government’s rationalisation of agencies, several commodity authorities (coffee, dairy, cotton, advisory services) have been or are being mainstreamed into the ministry.
Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries
Formulates and enforces policy and standards along the crop, livestock and fisheries value chains, with a mission to move farmers from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
National Agricultural Research Organisation
The statutory body (National Agricultural Research Act, 2005) that co-ordinates and guides public agricultural research and technology generation across Uganda’s research institutes.
NAADS / Operation Wealth Creation
Manages distribution of strategic farm inputs and planting materials and supports farmer access to agricultural finance, co-ordinating delivery with Operation Wealth Creation.
National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & Data Bank
Responsible for animal genetic improvement — breeding stock, semen, and conservation of indigenous livestock genetics.
Rwanda
minagri.gov.rw
A lean structure: one ministry working through two implementing boards — one for domestic development, one for exports.
Ministry of Agriculture & Animal Resources
Sets agriculture and livestock policy, driving land-use consolidation, modernisation and food security. Implements through RAB and NAEB.
Rwanda Agriculture & Animal Resources Development Board
The development board that implements MINAGRI’s programmes — research, extension, seed and input systems, and crop and livestock productivity.
National Agricultural Export Development Board
Develops and promotes Rwanda’s agricultural exports — notably coffee, tea and horticulture — and co-ordinates quality and market access.
Burundi
mineagrie.gov.bi
A combined environment-and-agriculture ministry, now seated in the political capital, Gitega, with a long-established research institute and commodity offices for coffee, tea and seeds.
Ministry of Environment, Agriculture & Livestock
Designs and executes national policy on environment, agriculture, livestock, water and land — aiming at food security and erosion-protected, well-amended farmland.
Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi
The national agronomic research institute (founded 1962) under MINEAGRIE, providing improved plant and animal material and supporting technologies to farmers.
Commodity & Seed Offices
Burundi’s value-chain bodies under MINEAGRIE — ARFIC (coffee regulation), OTB (the tea office) and ONCCS (national seed control and certification), alongside the palm-oil office (OHP).
South Sudan
mafs.gov.ss
Agriculture sustains over 80% of the rural population. Two ministries lead — one for crops and food security, one for livestock and fisheries.
Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security
Leads crop production, food security and co-operatives, with a mission to lift the rural majority through higher and more sustainable productivity. Runs the national crop and food-security assessments.
Ministry of Livestock & Fisheries
Develops the country’s vast pastoral and fisheries resources — animal health, range and the Nile/Sobat fisheries — often working jointly with MAFS and FAO.
DR Congo
agriculture.gouv.cd
The EAC’s largest member by land and population. The sector is split between agriculture/food-security and fisheries/livestock ministries, with INERA as the research arm.
Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security
Designs and implements national policy to raise production, modernise farming systems and fight food and nutrition insecurity across the vast Congolese territory.
Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock
Oversees sustainable management of fisheries and livestock resources, promoting responsible production and animal-protein supply.
INERA & ONAPAC
INERA (Institut National pour l’Étude et la Recherche Agronomiques) leads agronomic research; ONAPAC regulates and supports the cash-crop value chains (coffee, cocoa and others).
Somalia
moa.gov.so
The EAC’s newest member. Agriculture and livestock together dominate the economy; the federal ministries work amid climate shocks, locust threats and rebuilding of irrigation along the Shabelle and Juba rivers.
Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation
The federal ministry for crop production, mechanisation and innovation, plant protection, research and extension, and the rehabilitation of river irrigation systems.
Ministry of Livestock, Forestry & Range
Governs the livestock economy — the backbone of Somali exports — together with forestry and rangeland management.