RUTO’s government ignores the cries of poor farmers as it goes ahead with the plans to import 10 million bags of maize

 Tuesday, November 29, 2022 – The cries of poor farmers in Rift Valley and Western Kenya have fallen on deaf ears after the government of President William Ruto insisted on importing 10 million bags of maize; something that will destabilize prices of local maize.

In a statement, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei ruled out calls to suspend the importation of maize, noting that the country was staring at a serious shortage of the staple food.

This comes even as the government has set tough conditions for farmers to either release hoarded grains or compete with 10 million bags of imported maize to be released to the market to ease artificial shortages and lower the cost of flour.

Koskei ruled out the deferral of the importation of 10 million bags of maize and cautioned leaders against politicizing the process for selfish gains.

He said the import was meant to cushion famine-stricken families against acute food shortages and urged farmers to take advantage of attractive prices of over Sh5,000 per 90-kilogram bag to release hoarded produce to the market.

“The country is faced with a shortage of 10 million bags of maize and the government will not suspend the importation process as demanded by some leaders at the expense of millions of Kenyans faced with starvation,” said Mr. Koskei.