Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Shollei has opposed the plan by the Jubilee government to import 12.5 million bags of maize.
Speaking during a farmers' sensitisation meeting on the draft Food Crops and Irish Potato Regulations 2019 in Eldoret on Tuesday, Shollei said the move is ill-intended and local farmers will struggle to sell their maize.
“It is very wrong for the State to allow the importation of maize yet local farmers are still holding millions of bags in their homes,” said the county MP.
She called on the government to first take stock of all the maize farmers are holding.
“On what basis is the government importing maize and they haven’t told us what the shortfall is. We know in Kenya we require 42 million bags per year, they should tell us what is the shortage before embarking on any importation,” Shollei added.
She further said importation results in fluctuation of prices amid the high cost of production.
Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri recently announced that the government would allow millers and traders to import 12 million bags of maize in a bid to cushion Kenyans against high maize flour prices.
Out of the 12.5 million bags earmarked for import, 10 million will be white maize for household consumption while 2.5 million will be yellow maize that will be processed into animal feeds.