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.
Further, Kagwe has defended the decision by the cabinet to allow the importation of rice into the country, stating that it will contribute to the stabilisation of food prices. Kagwe warned that the failure to import the rice would result in a sharp rice shortfall and in turn lead to an increase in the price of other staples like maize and wheat, leaving a majority of Kenyans struggling to put food on their tables.
“The truth is that we have to import rice. If we do not, it means that the price of food in Kenya will become unattainable for a lot of people,” he stated.
“We have to maintain a balance where the farmer is selling the rice that they are producing and getting paid for it. The consumer must also be supplied at a price they can afford. And that is my mission: to ensure that the farmer is protected and the consumer is also protected and that food doesn’t become so expensive that they cannot afford it,” he added.
Data from the Agriculture and Agriculture Authority shows that the country’s rice production increased by 69,000 metric tonnes between the years 2022 and 2024.
Similarly, the volume of rice imported between the years 2023 and 2024 reduced by 180,000 metric tonnes. However, despite the country increasing its local production to 191,000 metric tonnes in 2024, the country was only able to meet 20.47 per cent of its annual rice demand, leaving room for the need to import 740,000 metric tonnes to bridge the gap.
Kagwe noted that the government will continue to rely on imports until such a time when the country is able to produce adequate rice to satisfy its demand for the food commodity.
He also divulged that the State, with support from the Japanese, has already started to ramp up production in the three rice-growing regions to curb the need for annual rice imports.
By Wangari Mwangi
