Technology holds the key to food security in Kenya

Since independence, Kenya has remained a food deficit country.

It is estimated that 10 million people suffer from chronic food insecurity and poor nutrition and between two and four million people require emergency food assistance at any given time.

Approximately 20 per cent of the population does not eat food that meet the minimum dietary requirements to live a healthy and productive life.

In addition, up to 35,000 children under five years of age suffer from acute malnutrition.

The food insecurity persists despite the fact that Kenya is an agricultural based-economy.

The situation is caused by the effects of extreme weather variability (droughts and/or floods), pest and diseases, poor infrastructure (road and markets), poor crop and animal management practices, insecurity in some areas and increasing cases of human wildlife conflict over natural resources.

To reduces the effects of these challenges, many households resort to measures like reducing the number, type and portions of food consumed.

Budgets set aside for items such as health and education are reduced because the focus is on basic survival.

Pastoralists opt to move livestock toward areas where there is pasture and water resources or sell their animals as a last option when all else has failed.

The government in the recent past has put in several measures to ensure macro-economic growth thus reducing food insecurity including passing a Constitution in 2010, drafting of Vision 2030 and the formulation of a food and nutrition policy in 2012.

These documents provide the policy framework under which Kenya food and nutrition security needs will be met. Thus it is envisioned that in 2063, the fruits of the current reform process will be harvested.

Agriculture share of GDP will have declined significantly in 2063. However, the contribution of agricultural growth will rise because the sector will provide the foundation for non-agricultural based growth.

This growth will create jobs, raise the level of consumption of citizens through increased incomes and encourage trade.

In 2063, the country will be faced with a more knowledgeable and informed population who are aware of their rights, have unique tastes and preferences and thus demand for these needs to be met.

OPTIMISTIC FORECASTS

It is expected that there will be less hungry people and more optimistic forecasts.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network forecasts that an estimated 850,000 people, predominately poor households in pastoral, agro-pastoral, and marginal agricultural livelihood zones may not get enough food in January 2014.

Household food security is expected to improve from December through March due to good pasture in pastoral areas and increased food supply brought about by the short rains harvest from February to March.

Increasingly, the issues will focus on food quality and safety, preventing food safety emergencies and mitigating public health and socio-economic impacts.
Terms such as “food recall and traceability” will become common terms.

A food recall occurs when there is reason to believe that food may cause sickness. Food recalls are requested by government agencies but manufacturers or distributors can initiate the recall.

This happens when there is foreign object or organism in the product, or even mis-labeling or misbranding of food. Accelerated production programmes will be put in place to increase production.

For instance, genetically modified crops such as flood and drought tolerant rice varieties produced by International Rice Research Institute breeders, or better still drought resistant Bt-maize will be available.

Other innovations like staple crops that are able to “fix” nitrogen in the soil will also help.

On the ICT front, innovations that will enable farmers make decision on when to plant, how much water to irrigate, when and how much fertiliser to apply will become common.

These kind of innovations have already become a reality in Asia. In addition, innovations such as the micro-irrigation commonly known as drip irrigation and precision farming for maximising efficient water and fertiliser usage will become common.

Another common term in 2063 will be “food wastage footprint.” The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN estimates that more than one third of the food produced today is lost or wasted.

This loss and wastage happens along the food value chain and take various forms including spillage or breakage, detriotiation during handling or transportation and distribution.

This is a symptom of consumerists lifestyles, which represents a missed opportunity to food and nutrition security and comes with an environmental price tag.

The environmental foot print of food wastage is accounted for by the carbon foot print, water foot print, land occupation and degradation impact.

Without digressing much into the foot print story, climate change is a force to reckon with, and mitigation and adaptation is the only way to ensure that we can feed 100 million Kenyans without cannibalising our natural resources.

The solution to a reduced “food wastage footprint” is nutritional education and behavioural change, whereby we eat the right portions of food, improve handling and how we store what we eat.

It is envisioned that there will an improved food distribution system and effectively functioning markets.

The availability and affordability of food will not only depend on increased production, but on reduced distortions in the food market structure.

Commodity and future markets will play an important role in cushioning the producers and at the same time ensuring that food is affordable.

This will be achieved if speculation is minimised because it distorts the functioning of futures markets by disconnecting prices from market fundamentals.

The markets should be supported by strategic food reserves. In the intervening period, the focus will shift from food producing counties to food-deficit counties.

Thus, it is critical to provide that delicate balance to ensure that the citizens in food importing counties, are not left worse off because they missed the opportunity to exploit their untapped agricultural and natural resources.

The critical question is, will the agricultural system respond to the needs of the populace?

Nancy Laibuni is a policy analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis