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Farmers Party of Kenya, a key constituent of Kenya Kwanza, has expressed shock and dismay over the recent decision by the Kenyan government to enter into agreements with Zambian farmers to grow maize and other food staples for local consumption.
The party, which represents the interests of the farming community, argues that the move is a betrayal of Kenyan farmers who are struggling to make ends meet due to poor government support and inadequate investment in the sector.
Farmers’ party leader Irungu Nyakera on his social media account said that they will be moving to court to block the move by the government.
“A country that can’t feed itself is not free – food imports have moved from 10% to 17% over the last decade! We as Farmers Party will be moving to court over the next few days to stop the government from entering into this contract and forcing the government to invest in farmers locally,” he said.
According to Nyakera, over 65% of Kenyans earn a living from farming, and 70% of the rural population depends on farming.
He said that they will questions why the government would go to Zambia to farm when there are farms, farmers, and unemployed youth in Kenya who could be utilized for this purpose.
He said that the farmers’ party believes that outsourcing food production to other countries is not a sustainable solution, as it puts the country’s food security at risk.
“The Farmers Party has announced that it will take legal action against the government over the next few days to stop the contract with Zambian farmers and force the government to invest in farmers locally,” Nyakera said.
The party argues that a country that cannot feed itself is not truly free, and that food imports have increased from 10% to 17% over the last decade.
“The Farmers Party is calling for a renewed focus on empowering local farmers and saying no to duty-free imports, “he said.
On Sunday, Irungu Nyakera had called for urgent action to contain government spending in Kenya.
He has suggested that the government should address the issue of rising government spending by looking into the output of the Parastatal reforms task force.