Agriculture & Agribusiness

Agriculture and agribusiness lawyers for tea, coffee, horticulture, livestock and aquaculture businesses in Kenya, including outgrower schemes and cooperative structures. The sector demands specialist knowledge of agricultural land law, the Crops Act and Co-operative Societies Act, export licensing, AFA regulation and cross-border trading under EAC and AfCFTA frameworks.

Agriculture & Agribusiness Law in Kenya

Agriculture remains the backbone of Kenya’s economy — from tea, coffee and horticulture for export to dairy, cereals and a fast-growing agri-processing industry. As agribusiness lawyers in Kenya, OLM Law advises farmers, processors, exporters, input suppliers, cooperatives and investors on the commercial, regulatory and land issues that arise across the agricultural value chain.

The regulatory landscape

The sector is regulated principally by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) under the Agriculture and Food Authority Act and the Crops Act, with the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) overseeing plant health, seed certification and phytosanitary standards. Cooperative structures fall under the Co-operative Societies Act, and the use of agricultural land sits within Kenya’s land-law framework. We help clients meet these requirements while keeping their operations commercial.

How we help

• Land and tenure — acquiring, leasing and securing agricultural land, and advising on land use and conversion.
• Commercial agreements — supply, off-take, out-grower, distribution and input-supply contracts.
• Regulatory compliance — AFA and KEPHIS licensing, food-safety standards and export requirements.
• Agri-finance and investment — financing, joint ventures and investment into agribusiness, including value-chain and warehouse-receipt finance.
• Cooperatives and disputes — formation and governance of cooperatives, and resolving supply, land and contractual disputes.

Relevant expertise

We draw on our Real Estate, Banking & Finance, Corporate & Commercial, Tax and Dispute Resolution teams for agribusiness clients — linking to each of those practice-area pages.

To invest in, finance or structure an agribusiness in Kenya, contact OLM Law.