WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-07-05 Time: 06:00:27 Posted By: News Poster
By Kaburu Mugambi
Nairobi – As wheat farmers demand the immediate retraction of the Finance minister’s decision to reduce the duty on wheat, millers and a farmers’ lobby have taken sharply antagonistic, if selfish, positions.
Presenting the 2010/2011 Budget, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta announced his intention to lower the duty on imported wheat from 35 per cent to 10 per cent.
Wheat farmers in Narok North and South districts – the leading wheat producing areas in Kenya – demonstrated on June 28 against the announcement and have vowed to hold out until the decision is annulled.
Cereal Millers Association yesterday said that while the government has over the years protected wheat farmers, they have been left on their own for the past decade.
Association chairman Diamond Lalji charges that policy decisions taken by Comesa and the East African Community have hurt local millers’ competitiveness.
He said although Kenya was given a Comesa safeguard in 2005 to control importation of wheat, the country was unable to farm the grain efficiently and increase production. At the same time Egypt and Mauritius were allowed to bring in wheat flour at zero duty, he said.
“We were meant to pay 35 per cent import duty,” said Mr Lalji. “We paid duty on raw materials while others were bringing in finished product at zero duty.”
In addition to Comesa, the East African Community came up with concessions whereby Tanzania and Kenya were to charge a 10 per cent duty on imported wheat while Uganda was to levy zero duty.
“With EAC customs union in place, Tanzania and Uganda millers were allowed to bring wheat into Kenya duty free, while we were subjected to 10 per cent duty if we exported to either of them,” said Mr Lalji. “How do you expect us to survive?”
Due to these successive policy changes, he said there has been a lot of divestment in the milling industry, adding that they have not upgraded their plants or reinvested while others were migrating to neighbouring countries.
“If this trend continues, there will come a time when milling in this country will be dead and with it farmers,” he said. “But with 10 per cent duty we expect massive investment in milling which was held back by uncertainty in the market.”
Mr Lalji expressed shock that although the government had said it was holding consultations about the budget proposal, it had not contacted the 23-miller association. “The government has not consulted us, and as of today they have not talked to us,” he said. “The government and farmers have not consulted us.”
Mr Lalji said wheat is landing at Mombasa port at Sh2,300 a bag; that is the price millers are offering farmers and pledged to buy all harvest. “Farmers should not have a problem with Sh2,300,” he said. “They make at least 33 per cent profit based on Tegemeo Institute’s wheat farming costing.”
Cereal Growers Association chief executive David Nyameino said the association met Agriculture minister Sally Kosgei on June 30. “We told her that there is every reason to protect the farmers, and she agreed. We expect a positive answer this week,” he told Sunday Nation.
They knew
Mr Nyameino said that when farmers planted they knew that the 35 per cent duty was in place. “And if we knew it would be reduced maybe we would not have planted,” he said. “There is no way we can fail to protect farmers; otherwise we will be exporting agriculture.”Farmers, he said, expected the government to put the import duty at least at 25 per cent.
Mr Lalji said plants have a 1.5 million tonne milling capacity, reached when Kenya used to export to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo when the countries were politically unstable. “Now that the countries have stabilised, millers have also sprouted in those countries, and thus we lost the markets,” he said.
Kenya’s annual wheat consumption stands at about 900,000 tonnes against local production of about 300,000 with the deficit bridged by imports.
Sensitive crop
Mr Nyameino said EAC member countries agree that wheat is a sensitive crop which should be protected. He said Kenya produces between 35 and 40 per cent of its requirement although it has potential of producing 75 per cent.
“At the same time we should not be seen as protecting inefficiency,” Mr Nyameino said. “But there are no alternatives in Narok other than planting wheat.”
Mr Lalji believes although the government has protected wheat farmers, production and area under the crop continues to shrink; since 2002 farmers have not put any new land under wheat.
“In 2002 area under wheat was 357,000 acres but dropped to 325,000 acres in 2009 and during the same period wheat production dropped from 312,000 tonnes to 219,000 tonnes,” he said.
“In economics we make a case for protection of infant industry, but wheat farmers have refused to grow.”
Original Source: 
Original date published: 3 July 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201007050058.html?viewall=1