The Ministry of Agriculture says the country has a good food balance sheet with stable prices to ensure food and nutrition security in the country.
Kenyans especially those who consume wheat and maize products are likely not to spend more for the products as Kenya has enough maize in its reserve to feed its population despite poor performance of the commodities at the beginning of the year.
The reduced production of the crops in the country was occasioned by farmers choosing to shift to other products especially in North Rift and other maize growing areas last year.
“Although there was a poor beginning of the season, there was also recovery up to 80% in most of the areas so as far as we’re concerned there’s no crisis.” said Prof. Hamadi Iddi Boga the Agriculture PS.
On average, Kenya produces 3 million metric tons of maize annually. However, due to population increase Kenya continues to witness a deficit of between 400,000-800000 metric tons. This is according to Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization
On his part, National Cereal and Produce Board (NCPB) Managing Director Joseph Kimote urged millers to take advantage of the available maize in their facilities.
“We have approximately 712,000 bags at our facilities across the country in our conversational stories and also in the silos this maize is available for sale to any miller it’s maize which is very clean. It has no aflatoxin” said Kimote.
Also Read:
- Govt. nabs maize from Tanzania contaminated with aflatoxin
- Kilifi Farmers told to turn to alternative crops as maize fails to germinate
- Maize flour prices set to rise over maize importation ban
With over 3 million Kenyans in drier areas of Northern Kenya at risk of starvation due to drought, the government, through the Ministry of Devotion, National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the County governments, will provide water, hay and cash transfers to cushion them until the next rainy season.
“The weather this time round has been a little unpredictable because in some parts of the country we’re still experiencing rains. It rained as late as yesterday and in other parts we’re experiencing dry weather. As a country we’re monitoring the weary situation while taking measures to make sure that those affected by dry conditions are taken care of. The biggest challenge of course is hay for the livestock and also water.” Prof. Hamadi added.
As it seeks to further make reforms in the sector, the ministry is also taking measures to reduce the high post-harvest losses, estimated at between 30-40 percent, which is usually experienced at the warehouses and storage facilities.
“We subjected all the maize we have in our facilities to testing for aflatoxin testing. We have aflatoxin kits in all the major silos and all the major intake facilities and we’ve ensured that there is clean maize in our facilities so that’s a guarantee I can give you.” Said Kimote.
The leaders were speaking during the celebration of the attainment of Quality standards ISO 9001:2015 by the National Cereals & Produce Board.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) Managing Director, Bernard Njiraini who was present at the event reiterated that the bureau will continue on its crackdown for millers that do not meet the standard requirements and have their licenses revoked.
“Our effort here is to try to see that we are within the acceptable levels of aflatoxin and once those companies are able to demonstrate they meet the requirements of the standards we’re going to reinstate them because the whole issue of aflatoxin is about the maize. When they feed maize we will automatically be able to reinstate their permits.” Said Njiraini
NCPB has started buying and stocking other products including beans, green grams and paddy. Additionally, it has also received in excess of 1000 bags of wheat with a target to hit approximately 300,000 bags.
