Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has assured local rice farmers that the government will purchase all available rice in their stores before allowing rice imports into the country.
Speaking at the Kenya School of Agriculture in Nyeri, Kagwe said that the government will prioritize the purchase of the food commodity from local farmers before bringing in 500,000 metric tonnes of Grade 1 milled white rice.
“We will make sure we buy all the rice that is in this country even as we allow for rice to come in. There should be no panic from any farmer that we are going to import rice at the expense of the local farmer. I cannot supervise such an exercise,” stated Kagwe.According to the CS, the country’s annual demand for rice stands at 1.3 million metric tonnes, but the three major rice-growing irrigation schemes of Ahero, Mwea and Bura only produce about 264,000 metric tonnes of rice annually, which accounts for about 20 per cent of the country’s annual rice demand.
While responding to the growing concerns by rice farmers in the country that the importation of rice will kill the rice sector, Kagwe said that this is not the first time the country will be bringing in rice from other countries.
He said that in the last three years the country had imported close to 700,000 metric tonnes to cover the shortfall occasioned by local production. He also urged the farmers to avoid succumbing to propaganda, adding that his ministry will ensure that the farmers interests are protected.
“This is not the first time we are importing rice. Last year and the previous year the same thing happened, and we didn’t hear that rice in Mwea or anywhere else in the republic was spoilt, lost or not bought by Kenya. So, I want to call for calmness in some of these things,” stated Kagwe.