County Cess taxes strain food systems and inflate prices in Kenya derailing the efforts of eradicating malnutrition

County Cess taxes have emerged as a significant concern for Kenya’s food systems, exacerbating the already high prices of essential goods across the country. Since the implementation of devolution, counties have been granted the authority to impose taxes however producers have raised concerns over some of the exorbitant charges on the movement of goods within their jurisdictions.
These levies, which vary from one county to another are placed on agricultural products and serve as a primary revenue source for local government authorities 80 per cent of which is meant to be used to maintain infrastructure. While they offer a straightforward and cost-effective means of generating funds, they have inadvertently contributed to soaring food prices in certain regions.
Speaking at the East and Southern Africa scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSN) regional meeting Dr. Martha Nyagaya-Board Chair SUN CSA Kenya explained the intricate interplay of Kenya’s food systems and how they are directly responsible for the inflated food prices.
“There is a disparity of food production systems where we have some counties that produce so much food and some that produce way little food, the distribution system ensures that food moves from counties that have more food to counties with none.”
She added, “Between the production and distribution there is the food processing system where we dry, store or fortify. So, when talking about food systems we must consider what is considered a balanced diet and what foods need to come from where for everyone in Kenya to get at least a combination of five food groups.”
Dr. Nyagaya pointed out the disruptive role of County Cess in this delicate balance. Drawing from discussions with maize growers that revealed the bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the counties and the need for multiple permits, which cumulatively amount to a substantial sum of money. This financial burden, she explained, is passed on to consumers, further inflating the cost of staple foods and undermining food security, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Kenya grapples with a triple challenge of malnutrition, encompassing undernutrition and deficiencies in essential micronutrients.
According to the latest Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) data Nearly 1.3 million children suffer from stunted growth, 290,000 children experience wasting, and 631,000 children are underweight.
To address this issue, counties must collaborate, particularly aiding those with limited food production to secure access to all five essential food groups.
“We recently met with maize farmers, who explained the challenges they face. Transporting maize alone requires 18 permits, costing KShs 108,000. If you consider that a tin of maize costs KShs 100, and you add the permit costs along with transport, processing, storage, drying, and testing for aflatoxin, the total expenses become quite burdensome.”
“All these costs are loaded onto the consumer, and this is just increasing food insecurity and access to food for people who need it most.”Dr Nyagaya explained.
Apart from calling on the government for a regulation of the taxes to alleviate the strain on consumers, the SUN CSA engages in a lot of advocacy efforts to ensure that the adverse impact on food prices is minimized and nutrition efforts within the country are up scaled.
She continued, “These levies vary depending on the county, meaning that the farther food must be transported, the greater the levies imposed. For instance, Kitale produces so much maize in this country we have places like Tana River that produces none, if you transport food from Kitale to Tana River in between there are 11 counties, so you can imagine if you need 18 permits multiplied by the 11 counties. It really increases the cost of food.”
As result of the high Cess taxes the cost of food has led the government to import food from other countries leaving the local produce.
“It is unfortunate that some are so hungry and yet we are wasting so much food that goes bad because of the process of processing and distribution.”