Hard task for Agriculture And EAC Cabinet Secretaries

BY HUMPHREY MBUGUA

It shall be a hard task for the incoming Agriculture, Industrialization, Treasury, and East African Community Cabinet Secretaries once the country gets into normalcy after the August 9^th General Elections.

Why? The new CSs’ will have a huge task to appease the poultry farmers who voted in the President-Elect – Dr William Samoei Ruto. President-Elect campaigned to make the lives of poultry farmers better.

Dr. Ruto once a poultry seller turned poultry farmer who vowed to support poultry farmers in the country, is touted to know the pain point for the farmers.

Today, poultry farmers aren’t happy because of the high taxation imposed on them. For instance, the cost of poultry feed has increased four times since 2020. A tray of an egg is trading at an average of Sh480/= to Sh 510/= depending on the location, from Sh350/= in 2020.

The market has been flooded with eggs from Uganda. This is painful because we have a lot of farmers in Thika, Wangige, Kitengela, Nyeri & Kirinyaga whose sole business is to supply eggs to major supermarkets & open-air markets in the country. Kenyan farmers have to put up with so much, the cost of feeds, cheap eggs coming from Uganda, and high taxation.

In addition, hatching eggs is also a major concern for poultry breeders. The cost of hatching eggs has gone up three times. Fertilized eggs for incubation/hatching eggs Tariff 0407.11 and 0407.19 – these are parent eggs specifically for incubation to hatch chicks which are sold to the farmers for rearing to produce fresh/table eggs and broiler meat. Since COVID-19 struck there has been a massive shortage of fertilized eggs for incubation and local hatcheries have been importing fertilized eggs to meet farmers’ demand for day-old chicks.

The Finance Act 2022 has classified all under the blanket heading 0407, which affects hatching eggs. This classification will affect the poultry industry and also the economy. Day-old chick prices will go up making poultry farming uncompetitive. Since hatching eggs will be very expensive, breeders may import day-old chicks leading to job losses. More day-old chicks will be imported from neighboring countries that are not charged excise duty on hatching eggs which may lead to the eventual collapse of local hatcheries.

Therefore there is a need to relook at how we are supporting the farmers in a big way. The industry has no objection to the imposition of excise duty on Fresh eggs/table eggs Tariff 0407.21, 0407.29, and 0407.90 as this will safeguard local farmers.

The poultry industry urges the government to exclude fertilized eggs for incubation 0407.11 and 0407.19 from excise duty to allow the importation of fertilized eggs and ensure an uninterrupted supply of day-old chicks hence promoting poultry farming in the country.