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The Kenyan government is to revive the moribund Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) and Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) in a bid to resuscitate the agriculture sector.

Agriculture minister, Kipruto arap Kirwa, says the government will put under close scrutiny all parastatals aligned to the ministry.

These include the Kenya Farmers Association and the Kenya Seed Company.

Kirwa was handed over office by his predecessor, Dr Bonaya Godana, and has also pledged to move into the coffee sector and remove those who “plundered it”.

“I am going to deal with the vampires who milked dry the Coffee Board and make them pay back the more than Sh680mn they stole,” says Kirwa.

He claims the coffee sector that used to be the pride of Kenyan farmers was ruined by “vampires” who mercilessly plundered it to enrich themselves.

Kirwa adds that before the government moves to revive some of the moribund parastatals, it will first get a thorough briefing on how they collapsed.

He says, however, that he will not ignore some of the recommendations made by the previous administration on how some parastatals could be revived.

He says other than rescuing the plundered state bodies, the government had made it clear the horticultural sector will not be a preserve of the elite.

The AFC, Kirwa adds, went under after it was taken over by “fat cats” with the intention of benefiting themselves and their kin.

Well connected people, he claims, plundered the AFC after awarding themselves loans for which they did not qualify.

He says the Narc government will put in place a re-organisation system in the agricultural sector that will enable farmers get effective credit.

“We will respond to the needs of our farmers by ensuring all the impediments and road blocks that hinder their pace is removed,” he says.