NAIROBI — Kenya's economy is likely to expand by at least 6 percent this year, the country's finance minister said on Thursday, sticking to rosy government forecasts despite delayed rains that could hit agriculture, a mainstay of the economy.

The Kenyan economy grew 6.3 percent last year, the statistics office said, helped by adequate rainfall which spurred farming, which contributes about a third of output. Growth had slumped to 4.9 percent in 2017.

"The Kenyan economy remains resilient ... It is expected to perform better in 2019, growing by at least over 6 percent," the minister, Henry Rotich, said at an event to disclose last year's economic performance.

The World Bank trimmed its forecast for Kenyan growth in 2019 to 5.7 percent this month from an earlier forecast of 5.8 percent because the main rainy season was delayed.

Food shortages and water scarcity could worsen if the rainy season — from March to May -- fails entirely, the country's meteorological department said just days after the World Bank's move.

"Uncertain rainfall may act as an inadvertent drag on growth," said Razia Khan, the head of research for Africa at Standard Chartered in London.

The government, however, which expects the economy to grow by 6.3 percent in 2019, according to President Uhuru Kenyatta in a speech earlier this month, stuck to its optimism.

"Though the onset of the long rains have delayed, it is still early to predict on its impact on agricultural production," Rotich said.

Last year's recovery in growth was driven by agriculture, excluding fisheries and forestry, which expanded by 6.6 percent, up from 1.8 percent in 2017, said Zachary Mwangi, director general of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Agriculture expanded by 6.4 percent when combined with fisheries and forestry, Mwangi said.

Increased production of crops and animals also helped manufacturing, which grew by 4.2 percent, faster than a revised 0.5 percent a year earlier.

The growth was driven by increased processing of agricultural commodities, including dairy, tea and sugar, Mwangi said.

A slowdown in private-sector credit growth last year was worrying, Rotich said, calling for the removal of caps on commercial lending rates that were imposed in 2016 by lawmakers, to boost credit flows.

"This phenomenon (credit growth slowdown) has been seen since the interest rate capping started. This calls for urgent need for the review of the interest rate capping regime," the minister said.

Kenya is one of the fastest-growing regions in Africa, but its performance is often hit by drought. Violence after a December 2007 presidential election and disputes over the following two polls led some investors to scale back investment, hurting growth.

Missed revenue targets, rising public debt and uncontrolled expenditure have also emerged as concerns for investors in recent years. — Reuters