NAIROBI: The Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA) has announced that from July 2024 to March 2025, a total of 1,710,358 bags of local wheat, each weighing 90 kg, were harvested. Millers have already acquired 1,388,762 bags from August to the present, leaving approximately 321,596 bags available with farmers and Marketing Agents, with the majority, 130,828 bags, located in Upper Narok.
According to Kenya News Agency, AFA’s press release today included a status update on wheat imports, stating that 80,000 bags remain to be harvested in Upper Narok and Timau 2. In the last eight months, wheat imports totaled 1,407,129 metric tonnes (15,634,767 bags), against a projected allocation of 3,246,000 metric tonnes (36 million bags). The national wheat demand is estimated at 2.2 to 2.4 million metric tonnes annually, with Kenya producing only 8% of its total consumption and importing the remaining 92%.
Kenya’s annual wheat production was 135,000 metric tonnes in 2023, contrasted with a consumption of 2,200,000 metric tonnes. The increasing deficit, ranging from 1.9 to 2.2 million metric tonnes, has been primarily filled by imports from Russia, Ukraine, and the EU. AFA’s survey from February to March 2021 highlighted a consistent decline in local production from 256,000 metric tonnes in 2010 to about 180,000 metric tonnes by 2020, while imports rose from 845,000 metric tonnes to 2,200,000 metric tonnes. The decline is attributed to rising production costs, low productivity, land subdivisions, and short land leases.
To address these challenges, the government, under the BETA initiative, has introduced measures such as a subsidised fertiliser programme, enforcement of minimum guaranteed prices, e-Extension services, soil testing, and improved seed varieties. These efforts have led to increased local wheat production over the past three years. In a recent meeting involving the CGA, CMA, Marketing Agents, and the Government, the CS, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, directed that all wheat in stock be sent to NCPB stores.
As a key member of the East African Community (EAC), Kenya adheres to various protocols, including the Customs Union and Common Market. Wheat is considered a trade-sensitive product within the EAC’s Common External Tariff (CET), which typically imposes a higher interest rate of 35% to protect local producers. However, Kenya negotiated a lower import tax rate of 10% under the CET to meet rising consumption demands and boost local production.
The Wheat Purchase Scheme (WPS), initiated in January 2010, mandates millers to buy all locally grown wheat at set prices, pay a 10% duty, and receive quotas to import wheat to cover the production gap. WPS was transferred to AFA on July 1, 2020, with the National Treasury overseeing an agreement between the Cereal Millers Association (CMA) and the Cereal Growers Association (CGA). Meanwhile, other EAC member states import wheat at a 10% rate without such conditions.
The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) is a State Corporation dedicated to developing, regulating, and promoting scheduled crops.
