Resolve the food crisis
Providing food is becoming an increasingly tough challenge for many Kenyan families. Soaring food prices is one of the manifestations of the high cost of living that is afflicting the majority of Kenyans.
That explains why there was a sigh of relief late last month, when Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya announced a tax waiver on maize imports, resulting in a Sh2 reduction in the price of a two-kilogramme packet of flour to mitigate the situation. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation had risen to 9.92 per cent by March.
Though CS Munya expected maize flour prices to drop within weeks, there is little evidence that this is happening. Millers have dampened the public mood by confirming that the tax waiver has not had much impact on their production costs. Consumers will continue paying more for maize flour due to an acute shortage in the local and regional markets.
Quick fixes bring short-term relief; what is needed is a lasting solution to the food crisis. Drought, rising inflation, the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other factors have contributed to the sorry situation. High cost of living has made life unbearable for many.
The agriculture minister has revisited the perennial problem of the fixation with maize as Kenya’s staple. A maize flour shortage is immediately taken as an indication of impending hunger and starvation. And it does not matter that there may be beans, potatoes, cassava and other food crops in stores or rotting on farms. Mr Munya has reiterated the call on Kenyans to diversify their diet. Farmers also need crop and livestock insurance for losses arising from droughts and floods.
Nearly 2.4 million Kenyans in the arid and semi-arid areas are experiencing high levels of food insecurity. It’s the duty of the government to ensure food security by creating a conducive environment for agriculture to thrive. Part of the solution is to initiate policies to support farmers to produce more food.
