Kenya’s wheat production hit 270,000 tons in 2020
By Evans Maritim, May 12, 2021
Kenya’s local wheat production hit 270,000 tons in 2020, Anthony Kioko, CEO of Cereal Growers Association (CGA) told Xinhua on Tuesday.
Anthony Kioko said that local farmers were only able to grow enough of the cereal to cater to about 20 percent of domestic demand.
“So the bulk of local consumption in 2020 was imported into the country,” Kioko said.
Data from the ministry of agriculture indicates that the major sources of wheat imports include Ukraine, Russia as well as South America.
Kioko observed that farmers require government support in order to compete favorably with subsidized imported wheat.
He noted that the high cost of production of wheat has discouraged farmers from expanding the area under cultivation.
Most farmers in the east African nation are only able to grow and harvest the cereal once a year.
Wheat is the second most important cereal in Kenya after maize and contributes substantially to food security, poverty reduction, and employment creation.