Why ugali is fading as rice, chapati rise in Kenyan homes

A woman preparing ugali. [Courtesy/GettyImages]

Ugali, Kenya’s long-cherished staple dish, is losing ground on the nation’s dinner tables. New data from Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) reveals a dramatic shift in eating habits, with maize consumption plunging by over 600,000 metric tonnes — a sign that rice and chapatis are quickly becoming the new favourites in the majority of Kenyan homes.

AFA details that while maize consumption dropped by 625,820 metric tonnes in 2024, rice consumption increased by 118,252 metric tonnes, wheat by 54,542 metric tonnes and sorghum by 7,986 metric tonnes in the same period.

Millet consumption is also on par with maize. Millet is the grain behind brown ugali, while maize is known for the widely consumed white ugali. The drop in maize consumption comes despite a reduction in price, as a 90-kilogram bag sold at Sh3,443 at the farm gate, compared to Sh4,094 in 2023.

The low prices are also said to be an effect of surplus production in 2023.

“This decrease is largely attributed to the government’s decision to set the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) purchase price at Sh3,500 per 90 kg bag, lower than the Sh4,000 offered in the previous year,” the authority says.

“While it intended to stabilise the market, this pricing adjustment coincided with increased supply in 2023 and declining market prices. As a result, the total value of domestically produced maize dropped from Sh199 billion in 2023 to Sh154.03 billion in 2024.”

The report by AFA notes that maize production declined from 4,285,206 metric tonnes in 2023 to 4,028,320 metric tonnes in 2024 — a six per cent drop. This mirrors the reduced size of land under plantation, which decreased by one per cent from 2,552,931 hectares in 2023 to 2,414,245 hectares in 2024.

But as maize production dropped, the area under rice cultivation increased from 31,671 hectares in 2023 to 40,681 hectares in 2024, a 22.15 per cent rise. Rice production consequently increased by 46,389 metric tonnes to 290,447 metric tonnes in 2024.

AFA says the increase in the area under cultivation was as a result of favourable weather conditions and government-led initiatives to reduce reliance on imports. These initiatives also drove growth in production.

“Rice imports decreased from 930,930 metric tonnes in 2023 to 629,688 metric tonnes in 2024,” the report says. “Meanwhile, rice exports increased from 1,372 metric tonnes in 2023 to 3,060 metric tonnes in 2024, driven by favourable prices in destination markets.”

The data shows chapati is also becoming a favourite alternative for Kenyans, with wheat consumption increasing to 2,249,533 metric tonnes in 2024 from 2,194,991 metric tonnes in 2023. Production showed only a negligible increase to 310,973 metric tonnes that year, compared to 309,483 metric tonnes in 2023. This also reflects the slight price change of Sh4,053 for a 90 kg bag in 2024 compared to Sh4,160 in 2023. The area under wheat cultivation declined from 104,200 hectares in 2023 to 102,287 hectares in 2024.

“This reduction is attributed to several factors, including a shift by farmers towards alternative crops, the growing threat of quelea bird infestations which have raised production costs, and ongoing land subdivision driven by population growth,” the report says.

Kenyans are also consuming more sorghum, according to the data. Sorghum consumption in metric tonnes increased to 120,482 in 2024 from 112,496 in 2023, while millet dropped to 2,715,793 in 2024 from 3,341,613 in 2023.

For millet, while the 2024 figures show a drop, they are still higher compared to the 50,623 metric tonnes recorded in 2022, reflecting the diversification of a typical Kenyan meal. Sorghum and millet are in some instances used as alternatives to maize flour or combined when making ugali.

“Millet imports increased significantly from 1,472 metric tonnes in 2023 to 10,520.62 metric tonnes in 2024, largely due to the influx of more affordable millet from neighbouring countries. At the same time, exports increased from 4.80 metric tonnes to 20 metric tonnes, supported by favourable prices in international markets,” the report says.

The report also shows an increase in sweet potato production, which stood at 862,724 metric tonnes in 2024 — up from 669,141 metric tonnes in 2023 — suggesting Kenyans’ increasingly experimental palates.