State warns millers against wheat imports

The government has warned millers against the importation of more wheat into the country before exhausting locally produced harvest.

Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Rono said though Kenya was only producing five per cent of what is required for local consumption, some millers had conspired against locally produced wheat leading to untold losses for local farmers.

Speaking in Eldoret where he officiated farmers' national celebrations and awards day on Thursday, the PS ordered the Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA) to stop authorising cereal import requests from millers violating State policies that require millers to show proof they have purchased a substantial percentage of local commodities before importing.

The event brought together stakeholders across all value chains from different sectors around the country. "The State Department of Agriculture has instructed AFA to ensure all wheat being held in our cereal stores around the country are purchased by the millers before any imports are allowed," Dr Rono said.

Earlier, the PS toured Narok and Bomet counties, accompanied by Governors Patrick Ole Ntutu and Prof Hillary Barchok respectively before attending the farmers' celebrations event in Eldoret.

In Narok, farmers complained that up to 125,000 bags of unsold wheat were lying at the local National Cereals and Produce Board, holding farmers' money and making it difficult for wheat farming to thrive.

Narok governor castigated the State for failing to absorb the small percentage of wheat produced locally, saying the reluctance killed local production.

He called for restriction of imports of wheat products until wheat produced in Kenya is exhausted. Kenya produced about 310 tonnes of wheat in 2023 with Narok contributing 168 tonnes of the total production.

The PS also directed AFA to stop the exploitation of Irish potato farmers in the country by enforcing the ban on overpackaging. "I have directed AFA to arrest and arraign anyone found packing potatoes on anything above 50kg bags," he warned.

During the event in Eldoret, the PS officially inaugurated 210 recruited agripreneurs who will register farmers for the subsidised farm inputs and create awareness of other agribusiness programmes by the department.

Each of the country's 1,450 wards is expected to recruit seven agripreneurs.

Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii lauded the government for the recruitment of the agripreneur cohorts, saying they will facilitate farmers and even provide extension services digitally.

"We are happy with the progress made by the government so far in improving farmer management and in bringing the agripreneurs to help the farmer. Indeed, we have seen a lot of changes over the past two years and we are happy," the county boss said.

The agripreneurs will support the implementation of the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System which has now seen over 6.45 million farmers registered.