[President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opening the Nairobi International Trade Fair. Photo/Citizen TV]
The government is set to spend close to Sh6 billion on subsidized maize, in a move aimed at making the country food secure.
Speaking on Wednesday while officially opening the Nairobi International Trade Fair, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the government will implement the plan under the government’s Strategic Food Reserve programme.
He noted that the state will be buying maize from farmers after last season's harvest, affirming his administration's commitment to boosting food security.
“To boost our food security and sustain affordable price for maize flour, the government will buy under the Strategic Food Reserve, all the maize offered for sale by our farmers during this 2017/18 season. For this purpose, we have programmed to spend Kshs 6 billion,” he stated.
“As a caring administration, we had to take steps to cushion consumers against the high food prices. In this regard, we instituted and successfully implemented a subsidized maize flour programme that lowered the price of a 2kg packet of maize flour from Kshs 150 to Ksh 90,” he added.
Previously, the country has experienced a drastic shortage of maize flour, prompting the government to import maize from Mexico, Ethiopia and Tanzania.