To attain these objectives, the government must balance policies that support farmers, other value chain actors as well as consumers.
The regulations seek to reduce excise duty remissions of beer made from locally grown sorghum, millet or cassava or any other agricultural produce from 80 percent to 60 percent.
Instead of the government raising revenue, it actually lost Sh2 billion in forgone tax due to losses accruing to the sorghum beer processors and other value chain actors.
The government, through support from development partners such as the World Bank and European Union has also invested heavily in the sorghum and millet value chains through the projects like the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project, the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project and the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Project, with several counties having prioritised sorghum as an essential food and commercial crop.
Social distancing rules and curfew rules have already impacted the plans of the sorghum beer processors, as well as other actors along the value chain.
