Kenya’s Agricultural Boom Leaves Tanzania’s Maize Market in Limbo
President William Ruto revealed that during his recent visit to Tanzania, the country’s Agriculture Minister expressed concerns over losing the Kenyan market for Tanzania’s maize.
Speaking on Monday, December 16, at the National and County Governments Coordinating Summit at State House, Nairobi, President Ruto stated that Kenya has not imported maize in 2023 or 2024 due to self-sufficiency in the commodity.
In 2022, Kenya imported maize worth Ksh10 billion, but significant progress in local production has eliminated the need for imports. The president credited this achievement to the government’s initiative of providing millions of bags of subsidized fertilizer to farmers, boosting food production.
“We have produced enough maize. We imported maize worth Ksh10 billion in 2022. In 2023 and 2024, we did not import any maize, meaning we are making progress,” President Ruto remarked.
The president emphasized that Kenya currently holds high national food stocks, including 95 million 50kg bags of maize, 9 million bags of beans, 10 million bags of wheat, and 2 million bags of rice.
“By distributing over 7 million bags of subsidized fertilizer to farmers, we have significantly increased food production, moving closer to sustainable food security and a manageable cost of living.
We are making significant strides towards eliminating famine and reducing dependence on imports. At the same time, we are witnessing improvements in farmer productivity and incomes across key value chains such as tea, sugar, coffee, and dairy,” the president explained.
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Kenya’s Agricultural Boom Leaves Tanzania’s Maize Market in Limbo
