Kenya, Uganda Seek Safer Maize Trade as AfCFTA Push Gains Momentum

Kenya and Uganda are seeking to deepen agricultural trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with food safety, maize quality and increased investment emerging as key areas for cooperation.

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said Kenya was ready to increase maize imports from Uganda, provided the grain meets required safety and quality standards.

Speaking during a luncheon meeting with Uganda’s Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Kagwe said Uganda was well positioned to supply part of Kenya’s maize requirements. However, he called for better post-harvest handling, particularly proper drying of maize before it crosses the border.

Kenya has raised concerns over moisture levels and aflatoxin contamination in imported maize. Kagwe said addressing these challenges at the point of production would make it easier for Kenyan millers to purchase Ugandan grain while giving farmers in Uganda access to a larger regional market.

“We can buy, but we need aflatoxin-free maize,” Kagwe said, stressing that increased agricultural trade must not compromise consumer safety.

The Cabinet Secretary said Kenya would continue enforcing food safety and quality standards even as it works to remove unnecessary barriers to regional trade. He called for practical solutions to tariff and non-tariff barriers that continue to restrict the movement of agricultural products across African borders.

The discussions placed the maize trade within the broader AfCFTA agenda, which seeks to expand commerce between African countries. Kagwe said countries should take advantage of differences in agricultural production to complement one another rather than treating those differences as barriers to trade.

Ugandan legislators similarly called for greater intra-African agricultural trade and harmonisation of agricultural and trade protocols. They said stronger coordination within the East African Community would help facilitate cross-border movement of agricultural products while maintaining appropriate safety standards.

The delegation identified climate change, water availability, pests and diseases, energy costs, cold storage, extension services, weak markets and limited value addition as areas requiring greater regional investment.

Agricultural financing also emerged as a major concern. Ugandan legislators said agriculture receives about 2.2 percent of their country’s national budget, which they consider inadequate given the sector’s role in food security, employment and rural livelihoods.

National Assembly Agriculture and Livestock Committee Chairperson John Mutunga said Kenya also needs to increase investment in agriculture if the sector is to create more jobs and support industrialisation.

Mutunga argued that agricultural development should precede broader expansion in agro-processing and manufacturing. He pointed to Kenya’s fertiliser and seed subsidy programmes, soil health interventions and last-mile distribution as measures intended to raise farm productivity.

He also noted that farmer registration has expanded from about 250,000 to more than 7.2 million farmers, giving the Government a larger database through which agricultural support can be targeted.

Kagwe further invited Uganda to consider adopting Kenya’s Animal Identification and Traceability (ANITRAC) system. The technology is designed to improve identification and traceability of livestock while strengthening efforts to combat livestock theft and illegal movement.

The two countries also agreed on the importance of sharing agricultural technologies and expertise as regional integration advances. Kagwe said greater cooperation could help farmers benefit from wider markets while enabling consumers to access safe agricultural products.

The meeting underscored a broader push to make AfCFTA more practical for farmers by reducing unnecessary trade barriers, improving food safety, expanding agricultural financing and strengthening value addition.

For Kenya and Uganda, the immediate maize trade discussions could provide a practical test of that ambition, balancing the need for reliable food supplies and better markets for farmers with strict controls on grain quality and consumer safety.