Economy

Maize stocks at strategic reserve to last two weeks

depot

National Cereals and Produce Board depot in Eldoret. PHOTO | FILE

The national strategic grain reserve has maize stocks enough to last only two weeks.

This means the State may turn to imports for relief purposes at a time 1.3 million people are reported to be facing starvation across the country.

The current stock of 1.3 million 90-kg bags of maize at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) is about 3.5 million bags less than the amount required to cushion the country against food shortages.

The food shortage has been attributed to poor rains during the March-May period. The food situation report for August indicates that the country had 1.6 million bags of maize in its stores, but the NCPB said it had since released more than 300,000 bags to millers.

“We have sold an additional 350,000 bags to millers from the stock we held about a month ago,” said managing director Newton Terer.

Kenyans consume about 3.1 million bags monthly.

Traditionally, the NCPB starts buying maize to replenish stocks from farmers in October when the harvest season kicks in. But ongoing protests by farmers from the country’s grain basket in the North Rift have delayed the deliveries.

More than a month since the board opened its doors, maize farmers are yet to deliver their produce arguing that the Sh2,300 the State is offering is too low. They want to be paid Sh3,000 per 90-kg bag.

The findings of a recent study by Egerton University’s Tegemeo Institute indicate that the country will suffer a shortage of nine million bags by next May, as the La Niña (drought) phenomenon that is expected this month would impact negatively on the short rain crop.

READ: Poor rainfall to cut Kenya’s maize production by 4.6m bags this year

“Short rain harvest estimated at 4.5 million bags could be less due to the looming La Niña phenomenon, which will spell doom on crop performance in central, eastern and coastal Kenya,” says the report.

The October to December rains are expected to be below average with negative effects on crops that are about to be planted; thus reduced harvest.

“Maize for May, June and July might need to be covered through imports of nine million bags,” says the report.

The Planning ministry owes the grains reserve Sh6.8 billion for 3.8 million bags of maize it borrowed for relief and fighting the effects of drought, further hurting Kenya’s efforts to ensure food security.

The urgency to replenish the grains reserve is underlined by the announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture that poor rainfall would cut this year’s maize harvest by 4.6 million bags, hurting farmers’ earnings and increasing grain prices.

A food security report indicates that maize yields will this year fall to 32.2 million bags, down from the 36.8 million bags harvested in 2015, reflecting a 12 per cent drop.