Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi has said that the price of maize flour will come down by the end of February 2023.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, January 3, Linturi said that the government was going to import maize to ensure that there was enough of the commodity.
The CS said that the government was making the move because if it did not import maize, some Kenyans were going to die of hunger.
Linturi said that the importation of maize was a short-term mitigation measure, as the government plans to have farmers grow more maize in the long term.
"We are going to import maize and rice. We are not doing it because we want but the projections are so bad that if we do not do it, our people will die for lack of food. And I want to commit by the end of February the cost of unga could have come down," Linturi stated.
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His remarks come after President William Ruto said that his government is focused on supporting farmers to produce more food in a bid to reduce the cost of food.
Speaking while ushering in the new year in Mombasa, the Head of State said that already the government has secured several tonnes of subsidized fertilizer, which will be available to farmers in January 2023.
"The permanent solution towards matters of reducing our cost of food is not subsidy, it is to support our farmers to produce more food," President Ruto said.
