The government is committed to lowering the cost of food production, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix Koskei has said.
Speaking when he visited the Finlay’s flower farm in Naivasha on Tuesday, Koskei said that many commercial famers were still experiencing the pinch of the high production costs something he said has led to the increase in food prices.
He said that the only way the government can ensure food prices are controlled and lowered is by reducing taxes charged on imported farm inputs which will then translate to reduced production costs and reduced food prices.
“Many people have been complaining about high food prices in the country and it is true that food prices are high but the prices cannot go down as long as farm inputs like fertilizers remain expensive," he said.
"Over the recent past the government has even tried to zero-rate all farm inputs being imported into the country as well as reducing fertilizer prices and we will continue doing so until we reach where we want to be," added the minister.
He reiterated the importance of moving away from weather-dependant agriculture into irrigation-based agriculture saying that the climatic change being experienced across the world has altered rain patterns something leading to food shortage.
“We need to move into irrigation based agriculture on a commercial basis because that is the only way we can ensure that our country is secured from food shortages and hunger,” he said.