Wheat farmers in tax protest

Wheat farmers on Thursday staged a demonstration in Narok to protest against Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s insistence that import duty on the cereal would remain low.

The minister had said that the move was in line with the East African Community regulations that came into effect last week. The farmers blocked the Kisii-Nairobi highway for the better part of the morning as policemen drawn from Narok North, Narok South, Naivasha and Bomet districts battled them.

Tourists visiting the Maasai Mara Game Reserve were some of the passengers who were caught up in the traffic snarl-up. Later, in a statement read on their behalf by councillor Salanket Nchoe, the farmers called on President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to intervene and save them from huge losses they would incur if the import duty remained at 10 per cent.

“We call on the two principals to save us from Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta, who is hell-bent on supporting millers and foreign countries at the expense of our sweat,” said Mr Nchoe. He further said that some countries protected their farmers through import duty as high as 75 per cent and wondered why Kenya was not doing the same.

The farmers put the cost of producing wheat at Sh2,700 per acre and said if they sell it at Sh1,980, they would make a huge loss and this would drive them out of business. Last week’s demonstration, which was organised by the Cereal Growers Association (CGA) and the Narok Farmers Association, prompted the Cabinet to direct Agriculture minister Sally Kosgei to hold talks with the farmers with a view to reaching an amicable solution.

The talks were held last week at Kilimo House, where a committee was set up to look into the matter. Earlier, the farmers had welcomed the move by the government and were optimistic a solution would be reached. CGA chairman Timothy Busienei said the farmers believed the government was sincere.

Matters, however, came to a head on Tuesday when Mr Kenyatta told Parliament that Kenya could not arbitrarily raise the import duty without consulting other member states of the East African Community.