If there is a year that the farmer has been ignored by the government of the day, then 2022 fits the bill. For whatever reasons, the Ministry of Agriculture failed to extend support to farmers in good time or completely failed to support the farmers despite repeated promises.
Proper regulatory mechanisms designed to cushion farmers from high-priced farm inputs are a sure way of supporting farmers at all levels, whether large-scale or small-scale. Unfortunately, the government failed to regulate the price of fertiliser.
A bag of fertiliser retailing at Sh6,500 or more meant only a few farmers could afford to engage in quality farming. This dealt a major blow to all the farmers across the country. Those who relied on government subsidies to carry out large-scale farming couldn’t afford the high-priced fertiliser.
This could only lead to such farmers reducing their acreage farmlands to take care of what they can manage at the high cost of farm inputs coupled with a high cost of living.
Kenya is largely an agricultural country and for a long time, the country’s economy has been hinged on agricultural production. A spot-check in agricultural farming regions presents a sad reality of what awaits the Kenyan farmer as harvesting season quickly approaches.
Farmers in the agricultural regions like Rift Valley, Western and Central are already counting losses as the long rains season comes to a close. It should go on record that Kenyans are already decrying the high prices of food, with a bag of maize retailing at Sh8,000.
The situation is worse for schools that must buy maize and beans in large quantities to sustain students’ feeding programmes throughout the term and year. This strain is going to be unbearable to the ordinary Kenyan farmer who, for whatever reason, relies on farming to pay school fees.
What then do we expect in the coming year? A majority of Kenyan families are going to face starvation for a lack of access to food and other basic commodities. When access to food starts competing with access to education or health, we all know what will be abandoned first in search of food.
As we prepare for low harvest, schools will have the challenge of buying food for the year-long reserves. There is no doubt that the Kenyan technocrats at the Ministry of Agriculture will order huge imports of maize and other food to plug the deficit occasioned by the very policy drivers who should have protected the Kenyan farmer.
We all know that importation of food has always been characterised by untold levels of corrupt dealings leading to the loss of taxpayers’ money. One wonders whether the Ministry of Agriculture designed a plan that can only lead to business opportunities for entrepreneurs at the expense of ordinary Kenyans.
The current state of affairs that presents poor harvest squarely rests on the shoulders of the government officials at the Ministry of Agriculture. There should be a way of punishing top government officers who fail in their legal and moral obligations.
Such willfully failures are always designed to lay the ground for government business opportunities that only a few power barons get to benefit from the painful experiences of the citizens.
Without a clear strategy to enforce friendly support towards the farming industry, Kenyan will continue to sink into poverty and unbearable pain for the citizens who deserve government protection.
Kenyans should prepare for a rough ride in the coming days. In the wake of cutthroat election campaigns, most government officers have abandoned their core roles of proper policy formulation and enforcement of friendly public policies designed to alleviate the current pain on the shoulders of Kenyans.
There are moments when we wonder whether the government has gone on holiday instead of addressing the plight of Kenyans. With fuel prices shooting beyond the rooftops, farm inputs at affordable prices will remain a mirage and the situation can only get worse unless urgent brakes are applied in the interests of mwanachi.
It is my considered view that the Ministry of Agriculture is left with an opportunity to quickly support farmers during the short rains season. Secondly, the ministry should consider sanctioning the importation of food at affordable rates to mitigate the looming famine.
Undoubtedly, addressing access to food will be a sticky issue for the next government. In the absence of a clear strategy to support ordinary Kenyans, most Kenyans will be pushed to the poverty bracket. This is a sad reality that requires urgent attention
Public policy and legal consultant
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