• Maize stocks 315,000 metric tonnes of maize in May according to the Agriculture ministry.
• Kenya plans to import two million bags of white maize for human consumption and two million bags of yellow maize for animals feed.
The country is likely to face food shortage this year, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa has said.
In the report by AGRA on food security outlook in Africa, because of low food reserves, heavy rains and the ongoing desert locust invasion, Kenya is likely to face food shortages.
“Consequently, increased demand for food imports combined with supply chain delays is likely to lead to food price inflation,” the May report states.
It showed that the food security situation has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic and desert locust infestation that have reduced food distribution efforts and led to significant food losses.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the country’s maize stocks declined by 25 per cent in May, with the country closing the month with about 315,000 metric tonnes of maize.
The report indicated that domestic maize consumption levels were higher than local production indicating low food availability in the country.
Agriculture CS Peter Munya told the Senate Committee for Agriculture that maize in the country’s Strategic Grain Reserves is unfit for human consumption as it has been contaminated by aflatoxin.
The loss comes when the country is still struggling with a locust invasion and the effects of the coronavirus, both of which have hurt the country’s food chain as markets are closed and movement remains restricted in some counties.
In response, Kenya plans to import two million bags of white maize for human consumption and two million bags of yellow maize for animals feed between the end of June and mid-July.
The report stated that ensuring uninterrupted access to agricultural inputs and the availability of labour is essential to increasing food production and availability in the next couple of months. This is as most countries in the region currently prepare for the planting season.
“Reducing restrictions on locust control and reducing post-harvest losses is key to ensuring food availability,” the report said.
The report further stated that as Covid-19 cases continue to increase across the continent, ensuring containment measures to minimise the spread of the pandemic is imperative.
“However, it is equally important to ensure that as health guidelines are implemented, agricultural activities are sustained during the pandemic to mitigate potential food crises given the high import dependency situation in most countries.”
Edited R.Wamochie