The government will allocate 2,000 acres of sunflower cultivation through a partnership with Sweden.

Agriculture Principal Secretary Kello Harsama says the new program aims to reduce heavy expenditure on edible oil imports with a market value of Kes 130 billion, of which 95 percent are sourced from outside the country.

Further, Harsama said that to achieve this, 6000 metric tons of sunflower seeds will be distributed to farmers before the upcoming short rains.

“During a bilateral review with the Swedish government, I stressed the need to expand the value chains to be supported by the successor of ASDSP II, the Kenya Agricultural Business Development Project by incorporating Pyrethrum and Sunflower,” he said.

The country sources most of its edible oils from external markets, primarily palm oil sourced from Malaysia.

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In 2021, Kenya imported $1.26 billion worth of palm oil, becoming the world's 9th largest importer of palm oil.