By Kimuri Mwangi
The Kenyan government is on a mission to reduce wheat imports into the country by supporting local farmers to increase production. The target is reducing imports by 17 per cent by 2027, hence expanding local farmers’ market share.
Local wheat production currently stands at 8 percent while imports take 92 per cent according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
In an interview recently in Narok at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot after meeting wheat farmers, Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Director General Bruno Linyiru reiterated that the Government is taking bold strategies to increase local production.
“The country has the potential to produce more wheat. The Government intends to guarantee farmers more support in the form of farm inputs and extension services so that they can produce more,” said Dr. Linyiru.
According to Linyiru, one of the strategies is ensuring the availability and uptake of clean seeds to ensure the expansion of the area under wheat. “The Government under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) is fully addressing challenges facing the wheat industry, for example, through the subsidized fertilizer program, enforcement of minimum guaranteed prices, e-extension services, soil testing and improved seed varieties,” opined Linyiru.
Noting that Kenya is a wheat deficit production country, Linyiru added that more interaction with various value chain players across the country is planned to identify the challenges they are undergoing and work out a solution together.
According to data from the AFA Food Crops Directorate, the national wheat annual demand stands between 2.2 million and 2.4 million metric tonnes.
The Food Crops Director, Calistus Kundu, said Kenya’s annual wheat production was 135,000 MT in 2023 against an annual consumption of 2,200,000 MT, which has been increasing in the last five years. The deficit of about 1.9 million to 2.2 million MT has been filled through imports, majorly from Russia, Ukraine and the European Union. Areas targeted to expand wheat production in the country according to Kundu include Laikipia, Samburu and Marsabit counties. “These new areas are suitable for wheat production and equally can accommodate current varieties like Farasi, kangaroo and Sungura which are grown in the traditional wheat growing regions. These interventions are over and above deepening wheat productivity in traditional regions of Narok, Timau and Mau.”
From July 2024 to March 2025, the total local wheat harvested stands at 1,710,358 (90kg) bags. Millers have taken up 1,388,762 bags from August to date. The total available wheat in the hands of farmers and Marketing Agents is about 321,596 bags, the bulk being in Upper Narok with 130,828 bags. The remaining wheat to be harvested in Upper Narok and Timau is projected at 80,000 bags.
In the last eight months, the total amount of wheat imported was 1,407,129 MT (15,634,767 bags) against a projected allocation of 3,246,000 MT (36 million bags).
Kundu confirmed that a survey carried out in early 2021 discovered that wheat production in the country has been declining over the years against increased imports. In 2010, production decreased from 256,000 MT to about 180,000 MT by 2020.
“During the same period, imports increased from 845,000 MT to 2,200,000 MT due to increasing cost of production with disproportionate increase in farm-gate prices and low productivity. This is in addition to land subdivisions and short land leases that cannot support modern technologies such as conservation agriculture,” said Mr. Kundu.
