The Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority (AFFA) has proposed new regulations which will make the sale of food produce in kiosks and residential areas illegal.
If adopted, vendors and hawkers popularly known as 'mama mboga' stand to loose their source of income as Kenyans loose the convenience of quickly getting food products near their homes.
The authority is seeking to restrict the sale of food stuff to designated markets set up by the national and county governments.
The proposed laws are meant to aid in the implementation of Crops Act 2013, which states in part “All food crop produce shall be offered for sale only at designated markets.”
Under the proposed laws, any person found selling food items outside the designated markets will face a Sh500,000 fine or imprisonment for a period of one year, The Business Daily reports.
Food traders will also be required to obtain licenses from AFFA to grow, transport, store, process or trade in agricultural produce.
The law is awaiting approval by sector players after which it will be gazetted by the Agriculture secretary.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority seeks to make 'mama mboga' extinct http://t.co/3kwFqoi0gf pic.twitter.com/uCmVfBUcGq
— Daily Nation (@dailynation) May 28, 2015
