Maize flour blending policy now awaits Cabinet approval

Regulations to implement the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act 2012, that wants maize flour blended with cassava and millet to boost nutrition, have been finalised and now await Cabinet approval.

Agriculture PS Kello Harsama said the the ministry has completed the discussion of the frameworks with stakeholders and that the state is now mulling the introduction of the blending policy.

If things go according to plan, the policy should become operational once the country’s long rains harvest have started getting into the market.

“We are anticipating a good harvest from October and once we have maize and prices have stabilised, then we can start talks on the implementation of flour blending. Our main concern right now is to get maize to avert the looming shortage in the country,” he said.

He spoke in Nairobi during a curtain raiser event for the India-Africa International Millet Conference to be held next month at the KICC in Nairobi.

The Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act 2012, requires millers to blend maize flour with other high value crops to improve the nutritional value.

Harsama said for example, millers can use millet, cassava and sorghum to blend white maize flour in order to guarantee high nutrition to Kenyans. He said the regulations are awaiting Cabinet approval.

He said the introduction of a flour blending initiative will see blending maize flour with millet, sorghum or cassava.

The move seeks to reduce the pressure on demand for maize as the country does not produce enough maize and there is always a deficit which is addressed through importation from neighbouring countries.

Millers had raised concern that blending could change the taste and colour of ugali, but the PS assured that blending does not affect the taste of ugali but instead makes it more nutritious.

The maize flour blending initiative also seeks to create a market for the crops used in blending, increase dietary diversity and contribute to increased micro-nutrient intake.

The Kenya Demographic Health Survey shows about 26 per cent of children aged under five are stunted, 11 per cent are under weight and four per cent are wasted.

Harsama said as the International Year of Millet is marked, the government is pushing towards increasing the crop's production.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets on March 5, 2021, on India's proposal, which was backed by 72 countries including Kenya.

Kenya produces just a third of the millet it needs, and has to import the balance.

“For example, in 2022 the total production was 63,063 tonnes on 106,233 hectares against the potential of 200,000 tonnes by using improved varieties against national demand of 138,000 tonnes per year,” Harsama said.

“Our focus on millets is because it is nutritious and good for people with health challenges such as diabetes,” he said.

“We are also facing a challenge of climate change and millet can withstand very little rain.”

Harsama said that drought-resilient crops such as sorghum, millet, sweet potatoes, cassava and green grams are key in ensuring food self-sufficiency in rural households.

He said farmers should adopt modern technologies in food production to ensure food and nutrition security.

The PS noted that millet has been neglected for long, with little support for research and development and little interest from seed companies in multiplying the seeds.

He pointed out that availability of high-quality millet seeds still remains a challenge to promotion of production and consumption of millet.

“A vast majority of farmers still rely on the informal seed system and often continue to recycle seeds that have declined in quality through generations of cultivation leading to low productivity. Over time, however, the attitude towards millet is rapidly changing with the realisation that they have enormous potential in ensuring food security and wellbeing,” Harsama said.

The Ministry of Agriculture has previously promoted the production of traditional high value crops including millet, sorghum, cassava and sweet potato through provision of seed, seedlings or cuttings and carrying out demonstrations and field days.

In 2006, the ministry initiated the Traditional High-Value Crops programme to mitigate against the lack of high-quality tolerant seeds.