The bulk of these are staples such as maize, wheat, rice and sugar that can be produced locally. Maize imports increased to nearly 800 per cent (1.2 million tonnes) last year and that of sugar by 655,500. For instance, banana production hit a high of a million tonnes of fruit a year in 1987 but halved in 1995 due to pests and diseases. Production has since increased steadily to 1.2 to 1.4 million tonnes yearly. This can be applied to rice, beans, wheat, potato and other crops, enhancing production and productivity and reducing the import bill.

Source: Daily Nation September 04, 2018 19:52 UTC