President William Ruto sided with Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, on the shortage of maize in the country.
In a despatch released by the Cabinet on Tuesday, November 29, the Cabinet resolved to import at least 15 million bags of maize to curb the deficit. and guarantee food security.
Cabinet ascertained that the country needed 45 million bags of maize, but local farmers could only offer 30 million.
"The deficit arising from the lower than expected domestic yields will be bridged through the importation of 10 million bags of maize," the statement read in part.
The meeting did not address whether the imported seed will be organic or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
However, Kuria's ultimatum to maize farmers to sell their produce within a stipulated time frame was thwarted with the Cabinet setting new timelines for importing the commodity.
"Cabinet resolved that the farmers' produce will be accorded priority access to the market.
"The importation by the private sector will commence in February 2023," the statement read in part.
Entrepreneurs will enjoy a customs duty waiver on all imports, while farmers will continue buying subsidised fertilisers at Ksh3,500.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi was among the CS who castigated Kuria over the maize importation saga. Mudavadi had urged the Trade boss to abort plans to import maize into the country.
Kuria's Agriculture counterpart, Mithika Linturi, also condemned the plans, assuring farmers that maize importation was under his jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, a container ship docked at the Mombasa port with 10,000 tonnes of maize from Mozambique was yet to be offloaded as of Wednesday, November 30.
An official from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) explained that the delay was pending a report from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) on whether the consignment was GMO.
Tests were set to be conducted on the 10,000 tonnes of maize to ascertain whether they were fit for consumption.
