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Agriculture and Food Systems
Farmer Registry and Subsidy Verification
Independent checks on KIAMIS registry quality and input e-voucher targeting, showing who receives subsidies, who is missed and where inputs leak.
- Sector
- Agriculture and Food Systems
- Typical timeline
- 8 to 12 weeks
- Delivery
- Onsite or virtual
- Deliverables
- 6
The problem
Kenya's fertiliser subsidy, rolled out in 2023, reaches farmers through the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Management Information System (KIAMIS), the national registry that records land, crops and livestock and enables input e-vouchers. The Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy 2019-2029 set the goal of shifting subsidies to high-needs farmers through e-vouchers. That goal depends on registry data that is accurate, current and verifiable, and on redemption records that can be traced from voucher to bag.
The warning signs are clear. In February 2025 the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission opened compliance monitoring of the programme, citing fake fertiliser, poor targeting, leakages and procurement fraud. In January 2026 the government signalled a shift to a targeted registry of poor and vulnerable farmers. Each step raises the stakes on data quality, and because the registry holds personal data, every check must comply with the Data Protection Act, 2019.
Policy anchors
- Kenya Integrated Agriculture Management Information System (KIAMIS)
- Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy 2019-2029
- Agricultural Policy, 2021
- Data Protection Act, 2019
How we work
Registry data audit
We test KIAMIS extracts for duplicates, invalid identifiers, implausible land and crop records and inactive entries, and measure completeness by county and ward.
Field verification
We visit a statistically drawn sample of registered farmers to confirm identity, holding size, crops and receipt of inputs, with geo-referenced checks where the client permits.
Transaction tracing
We reconcile e-voucher issuance and redemption with depot and agro-dealer records to trace inputs from voucher to farmer and locate leakage points.
Targeting analysis
We estimate inclusion and exclusion errors against the programme's eligibility rules and model how a targeted registry of poor and vulnerable farmers would change coverage.
Controls and reform options
We recommend data governance, verification and redemption controls aligned with the Data Protection Act, 2019, and a routine verification cycle the ministry or county can run itself.
- Registry data quality report with county and ward profiles
- Field verification report with sample design and findings
- Voucher-to-farmer reconciliation and leakage map
- Targeting analysis with inclusion and exclusion estimates
- Controls and data governance recommendations
- Verification protocol and tools for repeat rounds
The State Department for Agriculture, county departments of agriculture, oversight bodies and development partners that finance or monitor input subsidies.
Questions clients ask
Do you need access to the live KIAMIS platform?
No. We work from anonymised or pseudonymised extracts under a data-sharing agreement, so the system owner keeps control of the platform. Personal data is handled under the Data Protection Act, 2019, with access limited to the verification team.
Can a county commission this, or only the ministry?
Counties can. County agricultural officers carry out much of the registration, so a county verification shows where its own records and distribution are weakest, and a common protocol keeps national and county results comparable.
How is this different from an audit?
A financial audit tests compliance with procurement and accounting rules; verification tests whether the right farmers are registered and whether inputs reached them. The two complement each other, and verification findings can inform auditors and oversight bodies.