Agriculture and Livestock CS Mutahi Kagwe on Monday directed all farmers and aggregators to deliver their wheat stock to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) starting Tuesday morning.
The move resolved the wheat crisis where farmers were stranded with 321,000 bags of wheat after harvest.
Kagwe announced that payments to farmers will take place within 30 days after delivery to the warehouses across the country, which will be done by NCPB.
What is the status of wheat production in Kenya?
Kenya produces only 8 per cent of its annual wheat demand, a report from the Ministry of Agriculture shows.
The ministry said the country is 92 per cent relying on imports.
The national wheat demand is 2.2 to 2.4 million metric tons annually.
Kenya’s annual wheat production was 135,000MT in 2023 against a consumption of 2,200,000MT, which has been increasing in the last five years.
The deficit of about 1.9 to 2.2 MT has been filled through imports, majorly from Russia, Ukraine and the European Union.
The ministry said the total local wheat harvested from July 2024 to March 2025 is 1,710,358 (90kg) bags.
According to the ministry, millers mopped up 1,388,762 bags from August to date.
The total available wheat with farmers and Marketing Agents is about 321,596 bags, the bulk being in Upper Narok with 130,828 bags.
The remaining wheat to be harvested in Upper Narok and Timau 2 is projected at 80,000 bags.
In the last eight months, the total amount of wheat imported was 1,407,129 MT (15,634,767 bags) against a projected allocation of 3,246,000 MT (36 million bags).
Kenya is a key member of the East African Community (EAC), and is a signatory to the various protocols and instruments, and an active member of both the Customs Union and Common Market.
Wheat is classified as a trade sensitive product in the EAC’s Common External Tariff (CET).
The CET is an instrument commonly used in trading arrangements where the cost of importing goods, products or services from outside a trading bloc is higher for items listed in the sensitive schedule, to primarily protect local producers, industries and consumers from unfair competition, cheaper imports or even dumping.
The ministry said that Kenya, having witnessed the gradual decline in local wheat production since the 1990s, but with a commensurate rise in consumption of wheat and wheat products, decided to negotiate a lower rate of import tax under the CET of 10 per cent to allow wheat imports to meet the rising consumption demand while also rejuvenating the local production.
The objective of Kenya’s application was to increase local wheat production and reduce overreliance on imports.
Since 2010 on the advent of the new constitution, and while obligated under the EAC’s Customs Management Act of 2004, the Customs Duty Regulations of 2008, and the EAC’s Customs Union Duty Remission Scheme to meet the EAC’s protocols and agreements, Kenya instituted the Wheat Purchase Scheme (WPS).
WPS obligates millers to purchase all the locally grown wheat at set prices, pay a duty of 10 per cent instead of 35 per cent while also granting the millers quotas on a pro rata basis, to import wheat to fill the gap.
The WPS was launched on January 8, 2010 by the Ministry of Agriculture, then later transferred to the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) on 1st July 2020.
The National Treasury witnessed the agreement between Cereal Millers Association (CMA) and Cereal Growers Association (CGA).
Other EAC member states import at 10 per cent without such a pre-condition.
According to the ministry, the government under BETA is fully addressing the challenges, through the subsidized fertilizer program, enforcement of minimum guaranteed prices, e-Extension services, soil testing and improved seed varieties.
