A wheat war has broken out in Kenya after farmers from Narok and Eldoret were left stranded in Nairobi when dealers rejected their produce because they had enough in stock already.
Lawi Kiplagat, a wheat farmer and former assistant minister, has accused the millers of contravening a trade agreement that they buy all the local produce before turning to imported wheat stocks. Millers would prefer imports because they do not attract the same duty, but the farmers have been left covering the costs of transporting their wheat, parking and security fees.
The former MP for Baringo South has appealed to the Government to stop flooding the market with imports: “We are going lose millions if the Government does not stop these people from importing wheat.”
News of the farmers’ plight has come just a week after the Minister for Agriculture, Dr Bonaya Godana, spoke at the Central Kenya Agricultural Society to allay fears of food shortage and ruled out the possibility of food imports for a year.
