President William Ruto has said his government is keen on reducing the importation of food products by 50 per cent.
Ruto said the government is spending lots of resources on importing food products which in the end is resulting in more costs.
"The only way the Sh500 billion we spend on food will go down is through food production in Kenya," Ruto said.
"We want to reduce imports by 50 per cent in 5 years and by 100 per cent in 10 years. If we continue importing, we need to ensure we export to cover for the deficit."
The President spoke in Naivasha on the third day of the Cabinet retreat on Wednesday.
Ruto said that the government spends so much on food importation yet the food products can be made locally to the benefit of farmers and the country.
"Today, we import Sh500 billion every year on food items in the country. We import sugar, wheat, rice, maize and edible oils," Ruto said.
"The discussion we are having in this meeting here is on the relevant value chains to align again our budget this year to sustain the gains we made last year in bringing down the cost of food."
The President says the government is on course to reduce the cost of food to enhance affordability.
He noted that the government has managed to bring down the costs of unga by about Sh100.
"Today, on our shelves where we had prices of Unga at Sh230 or Sh240, the price of the same products at Sh140, a reduction of Sh100. There are ripple effects in all food items," Ruto said.
In his agriculture plan, the President said the are keen on boosting production of sunflower, cotton, palm oil, coffee, tea and sugarcane which will reduce resources used for importation.
The Kenya Kwanza government has invested heavily in agriculture with the supply of subsidised fertiliser being a priority measure taken to cut the costs of production.
The State cut the price of fertiliser from Sh 6,500 to Sh2,500.
According to the Head of State, the amount spent on the importation of food products should be used to boost the earnings of local farmers once the country can produce surplus food for its citizens.
