- Ruto said the move will help reduce the prices of food commodities and stabilise the economy.
- In December 2022, through a gazette notice, Treasury CS Njuguna Ndungu said the government will also import 600,000 metric tonnes of rice.
President William Ruto has said his government is in the process of importing four million bags of maize in March.
Speaking during the re-launch of the Women Enterprise Fund and Second Product of the Hustler Fund at KICC, Ruto said his administration is determined to eradicate hunger across the country.
"We are in the process of acquiring maize from foreign countries, to help people affected by drought," he said.
Other food products that will be imported are; Rice, cooking oil, beans and other legumes.
Ruto said the move will help reduce the prices of food commodities and stabilise the economy.
"We had asked our farmers who stored food commodities to sell them, now my cabinet has resorted to importing food to help our people," he said.
In December 2022, through a gazette notice, Treasury CS Njuguna Ndungu said the government will also import 600,000 metric tonnes of rice.
He said the importation of two products is aimed at averting an impending food crisis in the country occasioned by the ongoing drought.
"It is notified for the general information of the public that the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning directs that 900,000 metric tonnes of white maize grain and 600,000 metric tonnes of milled rice may be imported into the country duty-free from the 1st February 2023 to the 6th August 2023," the notice reads in part.
The CS said the imported food products must meet the set health, quality and customs standards set by Kenyan laws.
"Aflatoxin levels shall not exceed ten (10) packs per billion as provided under the Laws of Kenya and Kenyan standards. It shall be accompanied by a certificate of conformity issued by the Kenya Bureau of Standards."