Kenya is seeking to increase maize imports from Uganda as the two countries push to expand agricultural trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), although concerns over aflatoxin levels remain a key hurdle.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said Uganda was well positioned to supply part of Kenya’s maize requirements but urged the country to strengthen mechanisms for properly drying the grain before it crosses the border.

Speaking during a luncheon meeting with Uganda’s Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Kagwe said addressing the quality concerns would create a win-win situation by opening greater markets for Ugandan farmers while ensuring Kenyan consumers receive safe food.

“We need a system in Uganda where maize is dried before it crosses the border. We can buy, but we need aflatoxin-free maize,” Kagwe said.

📌 What You Need to Know

Kagwe noted that concerns over moisture and aflatoxin levels had made some Kenyan millers reluctant to purchase maize from Uganda, saying addressing the problem at source would help facilitate increased cross-border trade.

This comes as the government plans to import one million 90-kilogram bags of maize to replenish its strategic reserves after adverse weather conditions disrupted the 2026 harvest, to address an expected maize shortfall that could reach 5.4 million 90-kilogram bags by the end of September.

“Kenya will continue enforcing food safety and quality standards for agricultural products entering the country, even as we work with neighbouring states to remove barriers to regional trade,” Kagwe said.

The CS called for African countries to address tariff and non-tariff barriers that continue to limit agricultural trade, saying countries should use their different agricultural strengths to complement one another.

The Ugandan delegation similarly called for greater intra-African agricultural trade, noting that African countries were still not trading sufficiently among themselves despite the establishment of AfCFTA.

Additionally, the legislators called for harmonisation of agricultural and trade protocols, including within the East African Community, to facilitate the movement of produce across borders while maintaining appropriate safety and quality standards.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke