Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi has announced the government’s plan to reduce to the price of unga.

While speaking to the media on Tuesday, Linturi committed that the price of maize flour and rice will drop by the end of February.

This, he said was aimed at fulfilling President William Ruto’s pledge during his campaigns before the August elections to lower the reduce the cost of living for Kenyans.

Linturi also said the government intends to reduce the price of other food commodities such as rice.

"I want to commit that by the end of February, the cost of unga will have gone down and that of Rice will also come down," Linturi said.

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However, Linturi did not disclose how much the prices of food commodities will drop.


The CS urged Kenyans to pursue agriculture as an avenue of investment regardless of scale because hard cash cannot be consumed if nobody went to the farm.

"I want to encourage Kenyans to plant something no matter how small the land is,” Linturi said.

"If we were all to rely on buying food, assuming that nobody went to the farm to produce that food, we wouldn't chew on the coins or the notes that we all have.”


Currently, the country faces a food crisis which prompted the government to approve the importation of duty-free maize and sugar to ensure consumers get their supply.

With the government’s withdrawal of various subsidies that cushioned Kenyans from the effects of the harsh economic times, the cost of living has gone up and Kenyans are struggling to afford basic commodities.