NAIROBI, Kenya – The El Niño season expected to intensify from October to December 2026 could severely damage crops on many farms across the country.
However, stakeholders in the agriculture sector are coming together at the Africa International Agricultural Expo (AIAE), commonly known as Agri Africa Expo, to chart ways and measures that will help smallholder farmers maximise their produce amid the prevailing season.
Speaking to News9.africa at the sidelines of the Media Roundtable on Friday, September 25, Agriculture Secretary James Wanjohi said the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, has established measures, including farm technologies and innovation, to curb the effects of flooding and waterlogging expected from the heavy rain season.
“We have organised ourselves in regard to El Niño because we know there will be infrastructure and crops harvested in different fields that would be affected in terms of transportation from the farms to the stores,” said Wanjohi.
Wanjohi said the Agri Africa Expo 2026, which takes place at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) between October 23 and 25, allows smallholder farmers access to technologies in irrigation, harvesting and drying, among others.
“The technologies we are bringing on board in the exhibition are to facilitate the opening of irrigation equipment, technologies facilitating drying of maize, such as mobile driers, technologies in hay and silage making for dairy farmers. We are encouraging and giving farmers short-season variety crops that mature fast… You know most of them have suffered losses in the just concluded drought season,” he added.
The secretary called on farmers to attend the expo and learn more about the best and affordable technology required to create value for their farm produce.
“Farmers should not fear the cost of inputs. We have an agricultural finance corporation that gives affordable credit, which our farmers can access to be able to procure this machinery, accessories, and technology. The lesson we learned last year, 2025, is that we have technologies that were very cheap… from as low as KSh 10,000 farmers can access these machines. Large machines costs from KSh 5 million to KSh 7 million”
Agri Africa Expo, themed “Gathering global agricultural technologies and innovations to advance modernisation of African agriculture”, brings together policymakers, investors, and exhibitors from over 100 Chinese companies, showcasing farm machinery and technology that will add value to production.
“If you have technologies addressing the whole value chain, it is easy for our products also to get accepted in the Chinese market and across the globe,” the secretary said.
According to Agri Africa Expo CEO Tito Mutai, the 2026 edition will form partnerships that enable Kenyan farmers to add value to their farm produce through manufacturing capabilities.
“We should have the capability to manufacture our own. The partnership that we should be looking forward to creating should enable us to import parts, and we assemble them to make our own machines,” said Mutai.
Director of Market Development at Hunan Hongxing International Exhibition (HXIE) – the organisers of Agri Africa Expo – Flacko Wang said the 2025 edition attracted over 150 exhibitors, who showcased both large farm machinery and small-scale farm machines.
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