It is ironical that some Kenyans are starving in a season of plenty

What you need to know:

  • I believe the problem is not that Kenyans do not grow enough food, but that the country has very poor distribution policies, if any.

  • This is because whereas some regions have more than enough food, others have too little, and that’s not because they are lazy.

  • It was, therefore, not surprising to read the other day that the ironies associated with devolution were making that particular problem worse.

  • It emerges that even those farmers and businessmen who attempt to distribute food are being frustrated by county governments that impose unwarranted levies on farm produce.

To coin a cliché, there is enough food for thought in this conundrum.

Maize farmers in Kenya’s grain basket, especially in the North Rift and former Western Province, are unhappy because the government has set a buying price which they consider to be arbitrary — Sh2,300 for a 90-kg bag — instead of the Sh3,000 they were paid by the National Cereals and Produce Board last year.

It appears there is a surfeit of maize in the area, and instead of benefiting from the bountiful harvest, the farmers believe they are being exploited.

However, in reality, the laws of supply and demand cannot be allowed to operate otherwise they would lose even more.

This is because the NCPB is the buyer of last resort after private millers have had their fill in a liberalised market that allows in massive imports of cheaper maize from the eastern African region under the new-fangled Customs Union.

In short, there is precious little the farmers can do except to make noise, threaten to shut down Eldoret, and vow to withhold political support in future contests.

Or they can seek an alternative market inside the country.

RAINS FAILED

This domestic market exists, though the farmers may not know it, and even if they did, they may not have the wherewithal to store their produce for any length of time, or even to transport it to areas where it is scarce.

Indeed, here is the irony. As the North Rift farmers complain because they have more maize than they can sell at a profit, their colleagues in other parts of this country are staring at disaster in the face.

Quite simply, the short rains in many areas of Kenya have failed.

These include the central region, whose farmers normally grow the grain only for subsistence — their plots of land are too small and the population density too high for any meaningful harvests.

Although the weatherman kept assuring Kenyans that the short rains will be adequate, and, indeed, this proved true for parts of the country, the assurance turned to be a hoax in most other regions, and massive food scarcity looms.

Unfortunately, we have no choice but to take the weatherman at his word in good faith laced with a dose of skepticism.

What I am saying is that many parts of the former Central Province will be soon short of food, and ideally, there should be a huge market for the North Rift maize there.

So why can’t these farmers store their surplus grain until this happens?

UNWARRANTED LEVIES

I have long held on to the belief that even in times of adversity due to the vagaries of weather, no one in Kenya should starve.

I also believe the problem is not that Kenyans do not grow enough food, but that the country has very poor distribution policies, if any.

This is because whereas some regions have more than enough food, others have too little, and that’s not because they are lazy.

It was, therefore, not surprising to read the other day that the ironies associated with devolution were making that particular problem worse.

It emerges that even those farmers and businessmen who attempt to distribute food are being frustrated by county governments that impose unwarranted levies on farm produce.

Let us suppose, and this is a hypothetical case, you buy a bag of maize at Sh2,400 in Kitale.

From that town to Nairobi, you are forced to cross three other counties, and each wants its share of the loot in the form of a levy.

By the time you hit the city, you will have paid minimum of Sh400 per bag, which means that if you want to make any profit, you will have to sell it at more than Sh3,000 to offset the transport costs, wear and tear, and labour costs.

Why then bother fetching that maize in the first place?

I am no student of the Dismal Science, but I certainly don’t think this is the way to do business.

So the maize stays in Eldoret, the potatoes in Nyandarua, the fresh vegetables in Kinangop, and the prices of food skyrocket in the huge market that is the capital city.

Isn’t it time the charges levied by counties were streamlined so that if you buy produce in one county, you pay tax only there instead of every governor seeking an easy way to make enough money with which to bribe his MCAs?