Skip to main content

Catastrophic Duty-Free Rice Decision Sparks Dire Warning for Kenya's Food Future


Professor Fred Ogolla leader of TEAM EVOLVE.

NAIROBI, August 4, 2025.

Kenya’s agricultural backbone faces imminent collapse as the government’s decision to flood the market with 500,000 tonnes of duty-free rice triggers explosive warnings of economic sabotage and national food insecurity. The toxic Gazette Notice No. 10353, greenlighting Grade-1 rice imports without the mandatory 35% duty until year-end, has ignited fury from farmers and economists who condemn it as a death sentence for domestic production. Professor Fred Ogolla’s "TEAM EVOLVE" issued a blistering alert: this policy will annihilate livelihoods, enrich corrupt cartels, and chain Kenya to foreign food dependency.  

The crisis is immediate and brutal. Kenyan rice farmers, harvesting critical stocks through December in Mwea, Ahero, and Bura, now face deliberate undercutting by subsidized foreign imports. "This isn’t incompetence, it’s targeted sabotage of our food sovereignty," Ogolla declared, slamming Kenya’s failure to leverage its 1.5 million-tonne potential while producing a paltry 300,000 tonnes annually. Neighbouring Tanzania’s 2.4-million-tonne surplus, achieved by banning imports, exposes Kenya’s surrender to foreign interests as a catastrophic policy failure. 

 The government stands accused of rigging the system: crushing local farmers with taxes while gifting import cartels a 35% profit advantage. "This notice is a criminal haven for cronies," TEAM EVOLVE charged, revealing how a 2024 duty-free quota failed to lower consumer prices (per USDA data) but funneled profits to elites. Revenue losses will hemorrhage Kenya’s coffers as import taxes vanish amid spiraling debt. Worse, hundreds of thousands of jobs across milling, transport, and retail face extinction, threatening rural economies nationwide.  

TEAM EVOLVE issued five non-negotiable demands for survival:
1. Immediate shredding of Gazette Notice 10353;  
2. Restoration of the 35% duty to protect Kenyan producers;  
3. Emergency investment** in irrigation, mills, and cooperatives, not foreign rice;  
4. Expulsion of foreign monopolies, notably Japan, for Kenyan-led sector investment;  
5. A war-time strategy for rice self-sufficiency by 2030, enforced with military precision.  

The final warning echoes with existential urgency. "Death isn’t just by bullets," Ogolla’s statement thundered. "Starving millions through policy is genocide by spreadsheet." TEAM EVOLVE’s ultimatum leaves no ambiguity.  Kenya must ditch its suicidal import addiction and ignite domestic production NOW, not in 2027. "Park this economy on imports while gutting local farms, then dream of free healthcare? A strong shilling? Jobs? That’s not economics, it’s national suicide."  

With the December 31st deadline looming like a guillotine blade, stakeholders, faith leaders, and citizens are summoned to flood the streets in protest. The survival of Kenya’s food sovereignty and its people, hangs on tearing up this treasonous policy TODAY.

Comments

Post a Comment

good

Popular posts from this blog

Kenya Dental Association Condemns KMPDC Over Alleged Misregulation of Dentistry.

The Kenya Dental Association (KDA ) has strongly condemned the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) over what it terms as misregulation and illegal handling of the dental profession. In a press release dated April 10, 2025, the KDA expressed deep outrage and disappointment following the publication of a new Scope of Practice for Dentistry by KMPDC, which the association claims is unlawful and dangerously undermines the quality of oral healthcare in the country. According to the KDA, the scope in question allows unqualified para-professionals to engage in dental procedures without appropriate curriculum-based training or the necessary competencies. The association accuses the KMPDC, under the leadership of its chairperson Prof. Stanley Khainga , of ignoring its mandate to ensure that Kenyans access the highest attainable standard of healthcare. KDA warns that this misstep poses a serious threat to patient safety and public health, potentially leading to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Records Digitization Failures Risk Digital Kenya; Urges ICT-Records Unity.

Ms. Mary Kerema, OGW, Secretary ICT e-government and Digital Economy. Nairobi, Kenya - July 16, 2025.   Ms. Mary Kerema, OGW, delivering remarks on behalf of Eng. John Tanui, MBS, the Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy , issued a blunt assessment today, government efforts to digitize critical records are failing, risking the paralysis of Kenya's broader digital transformation agenda. Speaking to ICT Directors and various stakeholders at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Kenya Association of Records Managers and Archivists (KARMA) at the Serena Hotel, Kerema conveyed the PS's deep concern over the " significantly low" progress made since the Ministry directed State Corporations to adopt paperless systems in March 2023. She emphasized that the core problem identified by the PS is not funding, but a critical deficit in expertise, infrastructure, and a widespread underestimation of the domain's complexity, a complexity interwoven with leg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Women’s Health and Empowerment Take Center Stage at SHE BOLD International Women’s Day Event

     Luton Hospital, Nairobi, March 8, 2025.  Women’s health and empowerment took center stage as the Enkare Oltau Foundation , in partnership with Luton Hospital and the Bold Phase Initiative , hosted a remarkable International Women’s Day Celebration under the theme SHE BOLD. Held at Luton Hospital, Nairobi , the event brought together medical professionals, community leaders, and women from diverse backgrounds to champion gender equity, healthcare accessibility, and economic empowerment. The celebration aligned with the International Women’s Day 2025 theme: " Accelerate Action"  which calls for urgent efforts to close gender gaps in healthcare, education, and entrepreneurship. With a strong focus on holistic healthcare and self-empowerment, the event sought to equip women with the knowledge, resources, and support systems needed to thrive. A key concern raised during the event was the barriers preventing women from accessing quality healthcare. S...
Post a Comment
Read more