Maize farmers count losses as cheap imports flood market

Kenya's maize farmers are facing mounting financial pressure as a wave of low-cost grain imports continues to undercut domestic prices, threatening the livelihoods of smallholder producers who depend on the crop as their primary source of income.

In the North Rift breadbasket counties of Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, and Nandi — which together account for the bulk of Kenya's domestic maize output — farmers report receiving as little as Ksh 2,200 per 90-kilogram bag at local markets, well below the estimated cost of production that analysts place between Ksh 2,800 and Ksh 3,200 per bag once fertiliser, certified seed, and labour are factored in.

The situation has been compounded by a surge of cheaper grain from Uganda and Tanzania, which traders have moved across the borders following government decisions to allow duty-free imports aimed at stabilising consumer prices for unga, the staple maize flour. While millers and urban households have benefited from lower flour prices, the relief has come at a direct cost to domestic growers.

"We planted, we fertilised, we harvested — and now we cannot even recover what we spent," said one farmer in Eldoret who cultivated five acres this season. Many in the region had hoped the National Cereals and Produce Board would intervene with strategic purchases to support prices, but government procurement has remained limited.

The Kenya National Farmers Federation has called on the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary to urgently review the import policy and reinstate price support mechanisms. Officials at the Cereal Growers Association warn that without intervention, many smallholders may abandon maize cultivation entirely ahead of the long rains planting season, deepening the country's food security vulnerability.