The Kenyan government is exploring leasing the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (PPCK) to a private operator, in a move aimed at reviving a once-lucrative sub-sector, The Kenyan Wall Street reported.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe told Senators the Cabinet will consider a memorandum seeking approval for the plan.

PPCK generates just KSh35–60 million (271,000–464,000 US dollars) annually but carries KSh3.5 billion (27.08 million US dollars) in debts to suppliers and pension arrears. Kagwe said government allocations of KSh105 million (813,000 US dollars) in 2024/25 and KSh125 million (967,000 US dollars) this year are insufficient to sustain operations or support farmers, who are owed KSh10 million (77,400 US dollars) for recent deliveries.

Under the proposal, the government would first clean up PPCK’s balance sheet and reassess its assets before engaging a private operator, adopting a long-term model used in other industry revivals.

Kagwe highlighted broader sector interventions, including distributing clean planting materials to key counties and partnering with firms such as Botanical Extracts and Africhem Technologies to expand processing. He also said Kenya is strengthening regulatory compliance through the draft Crops (Pyrethrum) Regulations, 2024, and leveraging international standards via the Pyrethrum Joint Venture. PPCK has registered seven pyrethrum-based products for agriculture, public health, animal health, and industrial use.