STATE SHOULD AVERT HUNGER

In its editorial of Friday 29^th September, 2017 The Daily Nation under the heading STATE SHOULD AVERT HUNGER raised certain pertinent issues relating to the nation’s  declining food production and lack of sufficient strategic reserves of maize and its byproducts.

The editorial concluded by suggesting ‘Going forward, long term solutions need to be adopted to end the country’s perennial vulnerability to hunger’.

However, to make any meaningful gains, it is imperative to understand why Kenya has found itself in the present undesirable situation with all the available productive agricultural land and the willingness by it’s farmers to produce both wheat and maize crops,

In looking back to where the cereals subsector started experiencing its decline, it is necessary to refer to excerpts from Hansard (P1315 OF 10^TH May, 2005) that may shed some light on the matter.

‘’The KFA developed linkages with other major players in the agricultural sector, notably the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), The Kenya cooperative Creameries(KCC),The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPC),The Kenya Seed Company Limited (KSC), Agro -Chemical Companies and Animal Health Care Feed suppliers,et cetera as well as the Kenya Government. Due to its strategic location, the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) has infrastructure facilities such as go downs. As we all know KFA has go downs all the way from Coast Province to all other major towns in the Republic. It also has branches and distribution outlets throughout the country. The Government and other related institutions found KFA to be a good and convenient vehicle to implement their programs and projects mainly related to agricultural production and poverty alleviation initiatives.

‘’ the most notable linkage that evolved over time were the appointment of KFA by the Government to be the principal agency for handling storage, management and marketing of maize ,wheat grains as well as fertilizers. This function has since ceased following market liberalization.

Another major function of the KFA was to channel agricultural credit to cereal farmers; both wheat and maize through state- owned Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC).They will recover the same credit when farmers delivered their harvest at the end of each season. This went on until 1991/1992 when the agency function of KFA was transferred to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and, subsequently, followed by liberalization of the cereals sub-sector.’’

Kenya did not introduce liberalization of cereal sub sector by choice but as a result of conditions imposed by the IMF in the 80S through its structural adjustment programs. This move was the first step that disrupted a long and successful regulated cereals sub sector that included orderly service delivery by the various key players having close linkages with the K.F.A. Matters were further worsened in the year 1983 when KFA, a sixty years old vibrant agricultural organization was liquidated and the organization taken over by KGGCS Ltd. a society that only existed in name.

Feeding the nation is a primary responsibility of the state and behoves decision makers to put in place necessary policies in order to achieve food self-sufficiency to meet the rising demand from a fast growing population.

Some of the matters that need revisiting include, but not limited to, adequate budgetary provisions being made by the Ministry of Agriculture for lending to cereal growers through the Agricultural Finance Corporation as well as for purchase of cereals from producers; appointment of KNTC as a major importer and distributor of fertilizers through its countrywide branch network,; appointing the National Cereals and Produce Board to be the principal agency for handling storage, management and marketing of maize and wheat grains,  including gazettement of both crops as Scheduled Crops as was the case before introduction of involuntary  market  liberalization. With a single marketing channel, recovery of  production loans will be guaranteed and losses minimized to acceptable levels that can possibly be absorbed by the state as a cost, subject to due diligence being undertaken to establish the causes of any losses incurred by borrowers.

The only way forward is for radical policy changes to be undertaken as a way of protecting the cereal sub sector for sustainable levels of food production and elimination of grain imports using the nations hard earned foreign exchange reserves. Reliance on commercial importers for the nation’s food requirements is like abdicating from a social responsibility that cannot be assigned to market forces driven only by profit motivation.

Muzzafar Juma Khan.

Former General Manager of KGGCU Ltd and Interim Chairman of KFA (2003)