Kenya is ready to buy more maize from Uganda, but Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe says the two countries must first tackle poor grain handling and food safety concerns that have limited cross-border trade.
Kagwe said Kenya could absorb more maize from its neighbour as the two countries seek to expand agricultural trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), but insisted that grain entering the Kenyan market must meet safety and quality standards.
Speaking during a luncheon meeting with Uganda’s Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Kagwe said Uganda had the capacity to supply part of Kenya’s maize needs but needed to improve how the crop is dried and stored before export.
“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.
Kagwe said some Kenyan millers had been hesitant to purchase maize from Uganda because of concerns over moisture content and aflatoxin levels, warning that increased trade would only work if grain quality was addressed.
Improved post-harvest handling, he said, would give Ugandan farmers access to a bigger market while also protecting Kenyan consumers from unsafe grain.
The concern over aflatoxin has continued to affect maize trade across East Africa. A 2024 statistical report by Uganda’s agriculture ministry shows that Kenya was the largest destination for Uganda’s maize exports to African markets, taking 50.7% of the country’s maize exports to the continent.
Uganda has also faced challenges accessing regional markets over concerns about contaminated grain. Uganda's Parliament has reported that the country loses an estimated Sh4.902 billion annually in export opportunities because of aflatoxin contamination.
The push for closer maize trade comes as Kenya continues to rely on imports to supplement domestic production. Data from the Agriculture and Food Authority shows the country imported 214,067 tonnes of maize in 2024, down from 488,535 tonnes in 2023, representing a 56.18% decline that was largely linked to improved local production.
Despite Uganda’s position as a major regional producer, its contribution to Kenya’s maize imports has remained low in recent years. USDA data shows Kenya imported about 10,498 tonnes of maize from Uganda in 2023, but the volume dropped sharply to just 297 tonnes in 2024.
Kagwe said Kenya would maintain its food safety and quality controls while working with neighbouring countries to remove barriers that make agricultural trade more difficult.
“We have to ease off these small tariff and non-tariff barriers. We have to look for ways in agriculture where it is a win-win situation.”
The Ugandan parliamentary delegation also pushed for closer alignment of agricultural and trade rules, including under the East African Community, to make it easier for farm products to move across borders without weakening safety and quality requirements.
The delegation said African countries were still trading below their potential despite the creation of AfCFTA. It identified climate change, water for production, pests and diseases, energy, cold storage, extension services, weak markets, value addition and agribusiness as areas that need more investment.
Agricultural financing was also a major part of the discussions, with the Ugandan delegation saying the sector receives about 2.2% of the country's national budget.
The delegation described the allocation as inadequate given agriculture's role in food security, employment and rural livelihoods.
Uganda's approved 2026/27 budget, however, allocates Sh2.2 trillion to agro-industrialisation, covering areas such as agricultural research, inputs, irrigation, extension services, agro-processing and market access.
In Kenya, National Assembly Agriculture and Livestock Committee Chairperson John Mutunga called for more resources for agriculture, saying the sector would need stronger funding if it is to create more employment.
“If we fund education at 24.7%, we are putting more resources to create demand for jobs. If we fund agriculture at less than 5%, we are constraining the sector that would create those jobs,” Mutunga said.
His remarks echo Kagwe’s earlier calls for increased funding for agriculture in Kenya. Earlier this year, the CS said the Agriculture Ministry had been allocated Sh75.49 billion, equivalent to 2.7% of the national budget, despite agriculture contributing 22.5% of GDP and employing more than 40% of Kenyans.
Kagwe has called for greater investment in irrigation, digital agriculture, climate-smart farming and value addition as part of efforts to improve food security and reduce reliance on imports.
The Kenya-Uganda talks therefore placed maize at the centre of a wider push to expand regional agricultural trade while dealing with the challenges that continue to limit farmers and consumers.
For Uganda, better drying, storage and quality control could open a larger Kenyan market for its maize producers. For Kenya, stronger cross-border supply could provide another source of grain, provided imports meet the required food safety standards.