Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi on Monday said the move is among short and long-term measures that the state is putting in place to bring down the cost of food in the country.
“I have ordered 1.4 million tonnes of white maize, I have ordered 1.1 million tonnes of rice and 500,000 tonnes of yellow maize...to ensure our animals feeds millers [are] able to produce low-cost animal feeds,” the CS told the press.
This means that about 16 million 90kg bags of white maize, about 2.2 million of 50kg of rice and about 5.6 million 90kg bags of yellow maize will be shipped into the country.
Linturi said import permits have been given to traders to ship in maize.
“We have given permits to bring in rice to substitute maize in the event that we will not get adequate stocks. The duty-free imports are supposed to be here in 14 days,” he said.
When asked about the origin of the maize, the CS said: “As long as it meets standards set out, I do not care where it comes from. We have agencies that will do verification and testing to establish if fit for human consumption.”
He said by the end of August, the cost of maize flour in the country will have been brought down to less than Sh120 per 2kg.
Linturi addressed the press on the sidelines of the Desert Locusts Control Committee 42nd Session at Safari Park Hotel.
The session seeks to discuss and share experiences on desert control efforts by countries with the support of Food and Agricultural Organization, Regional Desert Locust Commissions and partners.
The session will also review the achievements of the FAO Global Emergency.
During the meeting, experts will review the response to the desert locust upsurge that ravaged the country in 2019-2022, as well as the readiness to deal with future threats.
The CS said President William Ruto has committed to bringing down the cost of food.
“My greatest responsibility as the leader in that particular docket is to implement the vision of the President. You have seen me moving around. Last week, I was in Zambia,” he said.
Linturi further said Kenyans will soon have good news, even from countries like Zambia.
“We [will have] very good news in very few months because we are getting serious support from the government of Zambia by giving us the opportunity to ship maize,” he said, adding that maize in Zambia can be grown in four months’ time.
The CS said the cost of production in Zambia is also quite low.
“In another two weeks, I’m going there to give farmers contracts to do maize for me to buy and bring to Kenya. I’m getting $300 per tonne. If you were to work out that arithmetic $300 per tonne mean Sh3,900 is what the Zambians are likely to sell their maize to me,” he said.
Linturi said he would buy a kilo of maize at less than Sh40.
“What I only need to do is to negotiate to ship the maize to Kenya. If the transport was to double, that will be Sh80. That will be in four months’ time,” he said.
The CS urged Kenyans for patience, saying they need more time and support.
“The problem is not our making; the effects of climate change are real,” he said.
Linturi said other interventions that the state has rolled out include the ongoing construction of dams.
Such dams, he said, will provide water for farming instead of depending on rain-fed agriculture.
The CS said he has also reached out to the Ugandan government and in the next one month, the country will be able to get good maize.
“The only thing I have told him [Ugandan Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze] is to start dealing with aflatoxin because the maize from Uganda is highly infected,” he said.
The National Cancer Institute says aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops such as maize (corn), peanuts, cottonseed and tree nuts.
NCI says the main fungi that produce aflatoxins are Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which are abundant in warm and humid regions of the world.
Aflatoxin-producing fungi can contaminate crops in the field, at harvest, and during storage.
The institute warns that exposure to aflatoxins is associated with an increased risk of liver cancer.
