Government Offers to Buy Maize at 3,600 shillings from Individuals

By Amina Faki

Good news for farmers and individuals around the country as the government is ready to buy maize from them at a price of 3,600 shillings per bag.

According to the Agriculture Principal secretary Richard Lesiyampe, the government is ready to buy a 90 kilogram of maize from farmers and individuals around the country at 3,600 shillings.

Currently, there is an estimate of 980,000 bags of maize in the country, which will be enough until the 29^th of May. He added that Kenya consumes three million bags of corn a month. The country will be importing five million bags of maize in the next two months.

Mr. Lesiyampe elaborated that millers are getting a subsidy of 1,300 shillings per bag, after milling flour they retail at 2,300 shillings per bag. The subsidy according to Lesiyampe enables consumers to buy maize flour at 90 shillings for a two-kilogram packet from the previous high of 144 shillings.

“As much as we remain sensitive to the shortage, to ensure that consumers are able to get food at affordable prices, we must also be careful not to flood the market so that the local farmers are affected.” These were the words of the Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, during a burial in Kiminini regarding the recent maize import.

According to the Irrigation Cabinet Secretary, the maize import will not exceed six million bags of maize that are needed to cover the deficit in the country. He added that the country’s maize production is about 37-38 million bags of maize in a year. The produce is less than the 43 million bags of maize that Kenyans consume in a year.