• Cost of unga likely to shoot in coming months; vegetables scarce due to drought.
• Agriculture CS Kiunjuri urges farmers to consider planting early maturing crops.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Putting a plate of ugali on the table after September could prove difficult for many Kenyans as the current maize stock can only last five months.
Agriculture minister Mwangi Kiunjuri yesterday said the country has about 21 million bags, majority of which is still being held by farmers.
However of concern is the high consumption of ugali, which remains Kenya's staple food. At least 4.2 million 90kg bags are consumed monthly.
That means about 12,427 tonnes of maize is consumed in Kenyan households each day.
Even those who will afford the meal then will have to grapple with high costs as the prices of maize flour are steadily expected to go up due to the drought sweeping the country.
Even worse is the Agriculture ministry announcement that vegetables- ugali's main accompaniment - are getting scarce and prices are soaring.
Currently, the ministry puts retail price of a two-kilogram packet of maize flour at between Sh80 to Sh95 but the prices are projected to increase.
Daily consumption
The uncertain future yesterday prompted Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri to call on farmers to consider planting crops that will require a shorter period to mature.
The CS said the delayed commencement of the long rains will affect the planting pattern eventually affecting maturity of crops.
The planting season in Kenya begins in mid-March and those who sowed their seeds are now counting losses as the seeds did not germinate.
"There will be consequences; the rains are going to start late. We expected the rains to have fallen in first and second week of March when most farmers do planting but the skies are still clear, there are no rains ... Already planted seeds are rotting where it had began raining. Farmers will be required to plant again," Kiunjuri said yesterday in Nairobi.
The onset of the March to May long rains has delayed and is likely to be below average due to a cyclone that occured in Mozambique and is predicted to have affected East African rainfall pattern.
However, Kiunjuri affirmed that national food security situation is stable except in pastoral and marginal agriculture counties where the situation is dire like Turkana, Marsabit, Tana River and Isiolo.
"Other food commodities such as rice, beans and sorghum are readily available in local markets but their prices are steadily rising... Due to delayed rains, leafy vegetables are also scarce and attracting high prices," Kiunjuri said.
The CS called on county government to assist affected farmers who have already lost their seeds during the early planting season upon the start of rains.
Kenya farmers produce 40 million bags of maize annually but this is below the consumption of 52 million bags.
The government imports the remaining bags to meet the deficit mostly from Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
At least 2.6 million people are experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity. The number could increase to 3.5 million by August.