Why Kenyan farmers are steadily trading wheat for barley

A loader carries a bag of barley for sun-drying at the Railway Grounds in Nakuru Town, Kenya on August 19, 2026.

Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group

Kenyan farmers are steadily trading their traditional wheat crop for barley, driven by massive demand from brewers in Uganda and Tanzania, signalling a potential shortage of wheat in Nairobi, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) says Kenyan wheat farmers are increasingly switching to barley to escape high production costs, rigid, and import competition for wheat.