Maize as the staple food of Kenya is troubled both at production and marketing levels. The country has and is still experiencing rain failure that started with the onset of planting and extended right to harvesting. Kenya has gone through three consecutive crop failure seasons and, coupled with the post poll violence of early last year, the country is bracing for yet another dire food inadequacy which will see more than 10 million people in need of food aid.
The Government of Kenya has been struggling to get its people out of the perennial food shortages and has put in place different measures to ensure that Kenya gradually leaps out of this problem. Against this background, and following an earlier analysis titled “High food and commodity prices – who gets the money?”, the Heinrich Böll Foundation commissioned this follow-up research study (conducted between the 24th August and late September 2009) to
• delve into some of these mitigation measures (duty waivers and other subsidies) the government has put in place to alleviate hunger and evaluate their effectiveness,
• analyse the irrigation for food production element in the recently announced National Economic Stimulus Programme, and
• make reform proposals for the cereals subsector, especially the National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB).