Farmers harvest maize crop facilitated by the Safaricom DigiFarm App that helps agribusinesses and small holding farmers to share information and transact easily, in Sigor village of Bomet County, Kenya, May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Jackson Njehia/File Photo

NAIROBI, July 3 (Reuters) – Kenya’s economy grew 5.0% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, down slightly from the 5.5% growth in the same quarter last year, its statistics office said on Wednesday.

Growth was driven by sectors including agriculture, forestry and fishing, real estate, financial and insurance, information and communication, and accommodation and food services, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said.

“Similar to the first quarter of 2023, agricultural production was vibrant in the corresponding quarter of 2024, owing to favourable weather conditions that supported crop and animal production during the quarter,” KNBS said in a statement.

Growth was also marginally higher in the fourth quarter of 2023, at 5.1% year-on-year.

(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Alexander Winning)