Government to import relief maize as drought bites

The government has set out to purchase two million bags of maize to shore up the strategic grain reserve.

This even as the Ministry of Agriculture assured the country that there was enough food stock to mitigate the biting drought in parts of the country.

Agriculture Secretary Willy Bett said on Wednesday that while there was no immediate threat of food shortage, the extra two million bags of maize would enable the strategic grain reserve to meet demand as the drought conditions continue to hit the country.

“As we speak now we are restocking. We want to purchase immediately two million bags of maize and that is basically to take care of the strategic grain reserve,” Mr Bett said.

The strategic reserve currently has 1.5 million bags of maize which the ministry said would not be enough to sustain the country’s requirements.

The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has been facing challenges in stocking up its reserves as farmers from the north rift protest the low pay for their produce.

The current dry spell is expected to impact this year’s harvest with projections indicating a shortfall of nine million bags of maize.

Mr Bett said NCPB was currently holding 9.5 million bags of maize which would be used to meet the country’s demand.

“We have the national requirement of food. For normal consumption we have 9.5 million bags of maize in the country which is more than enough for the country,” he stressed.

Farmers are demanding at least Sh3,000 for a 90kg bag of maize against the Sh2,300 being offered by NCPB.

Other grains being held in the strategic grain reserves include a million bags of rice, 2.3 million bags of wheat and 1.2 million bags of beans.

The government last week announced that 1.3 million Kenyans were at risk of famine given the prolonged dry spell.

Story by Kadzo Gunga