7 May 2008
Nairobi — The Government needs four million bags of maize and beans to cushion Kenyans from starvation.
The Ministry of Agriculture said it would use Sh2.2 billion to control the looming food shortage.
Answering questions by Mr Njoroge Baiya, the Githunguri MP, Agriculture minister William Ruto said adequate measures were in place to combat food shortage.
An assistant minister for Agriculture, Mr Japhet Kareke Mbiuki, standing in for Ruto said the Government had set aside Sh392 million for grain reserves.
Another Sh1.4 billion, he said, had been reserved to buy maize from farmers through the National Cereal Produce Board.
The minister said small-scale farmers would benefit from Sh245 million in the same strategy to guard Kenyans from hunger.
Another Sh68 million would be spent on the promotion of traditional crops like cassava, millet, arrowroots and potatoes countrywide. He said Sh845 million was set aside for fertiliser.
But Mbiuki ran into trouble as MPs pressed for specific answers, warning that food importation would be affected as grains in the world market was being diverted to the production of bio-fuels.
Baiya had through a private notice asked what specific measures the Government had employed to ensure accessibility and affordability of food throughout the crisis.
Mutito MP, Mr Mr Kiema Kilonzo, wanted to know the magnitude of the food shortage. He said unscrupulous business people often took advantage of food shortages and flooded the market with cheap imports at the expense of local farmers.
Kilonzo demanded to know from the ministry why Equity Bank was issuing credit to farmers yet that was the core function of the Agricultural Finance Corporation.
But Mbiuki said the Government was encouraging bankers to give more credit to farmers.
Deputy Speaker, Mr Maalim Farah, asked if Kenyans would afford the soaring food prices.
Olkalou MP, Mr Erastus Mureithi, said the food crisis was caused by the demand for half of the world's grain to make bio-fuels.
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