Some maize farmers are now turning their focus to wheat after poor weather hit the maize crop. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
A poor crop for Kenya’s staple food is set to put pressure on inflation on high maize prices, cripple the milling plants and hit the government budget because of maize imports to ease the shortage.
A total of 38.7 million bags were harvested in 2012 compared to 38.9 million bags last year.
Maize production this year might drop by up to 5.8 million bags if rains delay beyond this weekend, the Ministry of Agriculture warned on Tuesday.
Director of crops Johnston Irungu said if it fails to rain by Saturday, most maize fields will be affected, especially in Kenya’s grain basket of the Rift Valley.
The meteorological department had forecast above normal rains between March and May, prompting farmers to plant maize that have been hit by poor rain.
A poor crop for Kenya’s staple food is set to put pressure on inflation on high maize prices, cripple the milling plants and hit the government budget because of maize imports to ease the shortage.
“Unless it rains before the end of the week then we are estimating that between 15- to 20 per cent of the projected national average of 29 million bags will be affected,” said Mr Irungu in an interview with Business Daily on Tuesday.
“We expect that with proper weeding and immediate top-dressing, some of the affected crops that are not in critical stage might recover if it rains this week,” he added.
The alert comes as some maize farmers in the North Rift started counting losses as they turn their focus to wheat after poor weather hit the maize crop.
“A good number of farmers whose crop had only attained 20 per cent germination have resorted to converting their maize farms into wheat fields instead of leaving the land idle since there is little that they can get out of farming the crop now,” says Julius Cheboi, the Uasin Gishu county agriculture officer.
Kenya relies on rain-fed agriculture for crop production with only half a million acres under irrigation schemes.
This dependency on rain poses a challenge on food security and will see the number of bags produced this year drop further compared to last year.
A total of 38.7 million bags were harvested in 2012 compared to 38.9 million bags last year.
Wheat farming normally starts in the month of May when rains have subsided, with any slight change on weather pattern affecting production.
Reduced maize crop will expose Kenyans to surging prices and jerk inflation that has remained in the single digit range and within government targets.
The 90-kilogramme bag is retailing at Sh3,100 in Nairobi up from Sh3,000 in January and Sh2,700 in September.
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