More than 12 million Kenyans in 23 counties are at risk of starvation as the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has depleted maize stocks in its stores.
The agency has sold all its grains to millers due to increased demand, including the 300,000 bags it purchased last season on commercial basis.
“We have sold everything we had. The current shortage has to be handled at high government policy level,” NCPB Managing Director Joseph Kimote told the Nation Wednesday.
He dismissed favouritism claims by some millers in the allocation of the grains, noting that there was transparency in the process. “The board earned profit from the sales and the process has been closed,” he said.
The country produces 3.2 million metric tonnes of maize annually against a demand of 3.8 million metric tonnes. NCPB sought Sh10.3 billion in the last financial year for emergency food stocks. It, however, faced stiff competition from millers and traders who offered better prices and prompt payments.
Purchase three million bags
The agency was to purchase three million bags of maize at Sh7.56 billion and 50,000 bags of beans at Sh405 million to stock the National Food Reserve. An earlier report by NCPB chairman Mutea Iringo indicated that the agency was also to buy 30,000 bags of green grams at Sh270 million and 20,000 bags of powdered milk at Sh340 million.
Millers have decried the acute shortage of maize and wheat, saying, the situation could result in a food crisis. They want the government to remove barriers on cross-border trade to facilitate unrestricted flow of the grains into the country.
“Consumers are already struggling with rising prices of commodities. Implementation of these recommendations will be crucial in mitigating rising costs of wheat and maize should the situation persist,” millers in a message to the Ministry of Agriculture. They petitioned the government to negotiate with Zambian and Tanzanian authorities to facilitate importation of six million bags of maize to meet the current shortage and lower flour prices that have hit Sh165, up from Sh130 per two-kilogramme packet.
“It is critical that the government supports transport and logistics for the importation of maize. This is because of the high cost of transporting produce from neighbouring countries, which ultimately drives up the price of finished products,” said the millers. At least 10 millers have laid off their workers due to the shortage.
“We have been crushing below capacity for the past two weeks, which has forced us to suspend operations until we obtain sufficient stocks,” said one the millers.
Most of the struggling millers are in Bungoma, Busia, Kisumu, Narok, Kajiado and Central Kenya. They are members of Grain Mill Owners Association (GMOA) and Grain Belt Millers Association (GBMA).
“Millers have currently about one to two weeks’ supply and these stocks are not being replenished at the rate that they are being used,” said Mr Kipng’etich Mutai, the GBMA chairman.
He said 80 per cent of their members are out of business due to the rising prices that have been attributed to the export of maize to parts of Uganda and South Sudan, where it is fetching attractive prices. Meanwhile, the government has released Sh517 million to cushion hunger-stricken families in northern Kenya. More than 90 families will benefit from the money released by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) under the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) routine cash transfer segment.
The cash disbursements will benefit poor and vulnerable households in Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera and Turkana counties.
“Each household under the routine segment is entitled to Sh5,400 while those under the shock-responsive portfolio will receive Sh2,700.”
“This will go a long way in ensuring food for the vulnerable households in these four counties, which are among the most affected by drought which has been occasioned by three consecutive failed rain seasons,” said NDMA chief executive Lt Col (Rtd) Hared Hassan Adan.
