the Government of Kenya declared an impending drought with an estimated 1.6 million people affected.
The acutely food insecure population increased from 1.3 million in February to 1.5 million by August.
Findings of the 2015 Long Rains Assessment (LRA) indicate that about 1.1 million people are acutely food insecure and cannot meet their basic dietary requirements, hence requiring immediate food assistance for the next six months
Food insecurity conditions are likely to persist throughout the outlook period, especially in the northeast, northwest, and southeast pastoral areas, and coastal and southeast marginal agricultural areas.http://reliefweb.int/disaster/dr-2014-000131-ken
Why have our officials in the planning ministry not been able to look ahead; see that there is a famine looming; and mobilise national resources to deal with this emergency?
Female students in Kilifi exposed to sex pest as hunger bites harder (http://www.news24.co.ke/MyNews24/female-students-in-kilifi-exposed-to-sex-pest-as-hunger-bites-harder-20161018)
Nairobi - It has emerged that most female student in Primary and Secondary schools in Magarini Sub-County are exposed to sex pest as drought digs dipper in various parts of Kilifi County.
According to education officials in Kilifi, girls who live in rental houses in Magarini Sub –County highly depend on their fellow male students who give them money or food in return with sex.
From the Star article Moon Ki linked to:QuoteWhy have our officials in the planning ministry not been able to look ahead; see that there is a famine looming; and mobilise national resources to deal with this emergency?
This asked in a country where our numero uno priority is always the next elections, nothing else.
Drought in Kenya’s Northwest has left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation. The Kenyan government has yet to intervene, forcing residents to move to other counties in search of food.http://www.dw.com/en/hundreds-of-thousands-face-hunger-in-kenya/a-19345933
...
The Kenyan government had promised to release 50 million Kenya shillings ($5 million, 4.4 million euros) to be used to purchase food aid. Despite the pledge, the government is yet to release the funds forcing residents to move to other counties in search of food and water.
"As you drive along the Wamba Maralal road and Isiolo Wamba road you will notice a lot of malnourished women on shrubs trying to get wild fruits and seeds, this is all what they can afford to eat," said Chrystone Murungi, Samburu east deputy county commissioner.http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/10/27/samburu-residents-resort-to-wild-fruits-as-sh11m-relief-food-remains_c1445215
"The drought in Marsabit is not a new thing, and relief food is no real solution and it is very costly, but it must be done,” Ukur said.http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/10/27/marsabit-drought-getting-worse-warns-governor-ukur-yatani_c1445533
“We need to operate before things happen. We shouldn’t wait until people die to call it [drought] a national disaster.”
I don't see kenya calling for donors to feed those disaster stricken folks..which to me is an improvement. Treasury and Gok are releasing money to feed this people. I don't know what else you'd want them to do...prevent drought from happening?
Uhuru Kenyatta appealed for international aid and said the government would increase food handouts to the most needy communities.http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38934847
Sovereign and independent for 50+ years, economic powerhouse of East Africa, laptops for toddlers, SGR coming. But always begging for food.
Omera, this is how you hold a fork: Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma spends an eye-watering Sh130 million to teach kids table manners (http://www.sde.co.ke/thenairobian/article/2000230628/omera-this-is-how-you-hold-a-fork-kisumu-governor-jack-ranguma-spends-an-eye-watering-sh130-million-to-teach-kids-table-manners)
Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma has launched a Sh130 million scholarship that will see beneficiaries learn table manners.
The scholarship targets 280 needy students who scored more than 350 marks in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).
Ranguma claimed that it is sad that most students lack proper table manners.
“Instead of holding a fork on the left hand, some of the children were holding forks as if they were holding spears ready to attack an animal,” said Ranguma, adding that, “This scholarship will make some of you become ambassadors or protocol officers. An ambassador must be well versed with etiquette and we have to teach you some of these things early in life. You should not get in a situation where you are at the table and cannot differentiate between a water and wine glass.”
Last year, when the project kicked off, the county government sponsored 230 students.
The Nairobian learnt that during the one-week mentorship programme, beneficiaries meet and dine with the ‘high and mighty’ as they are enlightened on social aspects of life.
Ranguma said he plans on convincing the County Assembly to allocate more funds for the project.
Well, to be fair, we do have other more pressing priorities than buying food:
Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma has launched a Sh130 million scholarship that will see beneficiaries learn table manners.
Return of dreaded weed spells doom for lake people
Fishing is one of the hardest hit with stocks dwindling and fishermen unable to navigate their boats. To make matters worse, the weed has been blamed for the death of 90,000 fish that were caged by fishermen.
The Nation has established the Sh82 million machine, bought with the help of the World Bank to fight the weed, has been idling in Kisumu for a year.
The number of Kenyans facing starvation has risen from 2.7 million to three million.http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/02/17/number-of-starving-kenyans-rises-to-3m-state-seeks-sh11bn_c1508073
Agriculture PS Richard Lesiyampe yesterday said the government has done its best, but Sh11 billion is still needed to fight the ravaging drought up to July.
"We have approved Sh7.4 billion to be used in the second phase between February and April. But we have a gap of Sh11 billion and we have appealed to development partners to help," he told the press at KICC.
Anyways ... what matters right now is getting our man into that kula-nyama position, and we must focus on that. This business of no-food for so many is a regularity that should be over by August, with no more worries until 2019.
BBC, Al Jazeera and Do gooders will have to come and shame the bandit government for it to act
BBC, Al Jazeera and Do gooders will have to come and shame the bandit government for it to act
If we had any sense of shame, or even just basic self-respect, we would not be here: starving and begging, year after year. And, between "starvation sessions", insulting those that we beg from---we don't need them, we must be treated as equals, etc..
Grim photos. After 50+ years of whatever. Healthy mzungu, desperate mweuzi. Help save a life.
Instead of (or in addition to) just passing around such photos, as the author of the article suggests, I urge people to write/speak/etc., wherever and whenever they can, on the need for African governments to focus on important basics. Instead of (or in addition to) "save a life" handouts, encourage and contribute to self-sustaining solutions.
BBC, Al Jazeera and Do gooders will have to come and shame the bandit government for it to act
If we had any sense of shame, or even just basic self-respect, we would not be here: starving and begging, year after year. And, between "starvation sessions", insulting those that we beg from---we don't need them, we must be treated as equals, etc..
Grim photos. After 50+ years of whatever. Healthy mzungu, desperate mweuzi. Help save a life.
Instead of (or in addition to) just passing around such photos, as the author of the article suggests, I urge people to write/speak/etc., wherever and whenever they can, on the need for African governments to focus on important basics. Instead of (or in addition to) "save a life" handouts, encourage and contribute to self-sustaining solutions.
There are no long term solutions, we will pray for rains in April and once they come we will just use this sad pictures to wrap meat and life goes on. The shame I am talking about is the one of "saving Face" and getting a chance to claim we are an independent young nation that has some challenges.. I had some close friend hit me up on messenger asking I pull down the picture because it is not that of a Kenya. he stated that why are mzungus showing these pictures now during an election year. Everything until after Supremo court bay of pigs is about erections
Just took a look at the national budget for 2017-2018. Some highlights:
(a) The laptops-for-toddlers: Sh. 13 billion+
(b) The entire State Department for Irrigation: Sh. 13 billion, with only about half of that going to irrigation.
(c) Remember the Galana project? Started something like five years ago? A million irrigated acres to keep Kenyans fed? Targets for the coming year: 10K acres; the year after that, 10K acres; the year after that, 10K acres. (Yes, it's the same 10K acres ... model farm. And, no, you may not ask where all the money has gone.)
Now for a guessing game: Imagine the near future. Three guesses as to who will be crying about oh what terrible times, the rains have failed, and would the international community please save us from starvation. Only three guesses!
Or perhaps not. Maybe the toddlers will use their new skills on Ajira, earn big bucks, and use MPESA to send a little something to hungry.
U.N. aid agencies are appealing to international donors to provide money to scale up lifesaving operations in drought-stricken Ethiopia and Somalia, where millions of hungry people are at risk of death and illness.
Five years after a devastating 2011 famine killed nearly 260,000 people in Somalia, famine again is stalking that country. The worst-affected areas are in northern Puntland and Somaliland, where dozens of drought-related deaths and many illnesses already are being reported.
(http://www.the-star.co.ke/sites/default/files/styles/teaser_large/public/articles/2017/02/25/1512321.jpg?itok=Vp4q8N5X)
(Funny settings ... you might have to log-in to see the image. Or perhaps someone has been deleting images that I post.)
I can see it. Which part of Kenya is that?
I can see it. Which part of Kenya is that?
RV. Some Baringo place. Hustler has just been there, peddling Jubilee achievements. Not sure that laptops is a top concern for this lot.
Baringo can raise beef for the whole of Africa, but poor govt policies, or lack of have kept the region stagnant.
I dont know what policy is needed other than simple investment. Baringo, samburu and pokot counties main economic activity is livestock. Yet we don't have even one feedlot in the three counties. If there were just a couple of investors in each county to buy the dying animals and feed them it would have gone along way to alleviate the problem. The three counties have very wealthy people who are putting up buildings in nakuru and nairobi yet none dare invest in their own counties. I heard that marakwet is now called home of choppers. Last week a bunch of us from nyandarua were in samburu and baringo counties buying livestock to fatten in Nyandarua county,I which we had more capacity mainly fodder and land, the return might be well over 400%.
Beef in kenya is expensive in nairobi ksh.500-600, if the pastoral communities embraced modern ranching and range management they could increase output which would lower the price of beef to a level that most families can afford beef daily. Which would in turn expand the overall market.
The story of every successful East Asian Tiger began with Agriculture (Singapore has been the exception since it was a trading port). Without development of a healthy agricultural sector, it becomes very difficult to achieve Industrialisation. Micheal Lipston has noted that in the case of Latin America. The reason for this is initially, every State has to start on the development with the necessary importation of advanced machinery, Investment and sometimes even skilled labour. All of this requires hard foreign currency. Yet, how is the State to obtain this? The solution lies in Agricultural exports. The lack of development of Agriculture necessarily forces the State to import food which deteriorates balance of payments. When Latin American countries started the process of Industrialisation, they neglected to focus chiefly on obtaining self sufficiency in Agriculture. Thus when they started to move up the value chain through development of Industry, they were forced to import both machinery and food. This problem became even worse as they became richer because as soon as the income of workers increased, they started demanding more food putting even more pressure on balance of payments. This was also a problem in Socialist Yugoslavia which ended up contributing to the debt crisis of that country.
The reason for failure in their case and the big success of South Korea lay in their different approach to Agriculture. Improving agriculture generally requires two things. The first thing is land reform that re distributes land from landlords towards farmers. Lack of land reforms generally results in an agricultural sector with poor yields as the farmer lacks incentive to work hard on it primarily because much of his/her income goes towards paying of rent or interests towards landlords. The development expert, Joe Studwell has noted that in some cases around 50 percent of revenue of farmers have gone towards rents and interests leaving little for the farmer. In every East Asian country, comprehensive land reform has been absolutely necessary to kick start Agricultural growth. The State more or less forced landlords to sell land to it above the level set by it. This land were then redistributed on a far more equal basis among farmers an d workers creating an owner farmer who operated a tiny farm which was enough to sustain himself and his small family. In order to prevent land from being re monopolized by the landlords, the State prevented the buying and selling of land solely for profits. The difference here from the Socialist approach is that it does not eliminate market but structures through State intervention a very different kind of market.
However, farm land ownership is far from the only thing that is necessary towards growth. What is needed is a State policy helping farmers to farm. This involves setting up of credit facilities, Institutions specifically focused on agriculture related technology and appropriate Infrastructure in order to peacefully conduct businesses. Indeed, the Indian State of Kerala carried out the first part as per the National Land Reform Commission of India, but not the second part which explains why the State did not achieve high output despite having a relatively egalitarian distribution of income. This was arguably not as efficient as the process carries out in Japan but was a great success nonetheless. One problem was that it was carried out in patches starting from 1950's and picked up pace in 1960's and 70's. The South Korean government especially in the 1970's encouraged the formation of Cooperatives and provided it with all sorts of aid in order to share technology and continue to develop the sector further. The farmer for the first time was able to enjoy a greater share of his income stimulating him to improve production further.
This also led to a Consumption boom which was to lay the basis of the next stage and arguably the most important one in the development process - the development of Industry. Agriculture in that sense is exact opposite of manufacturing. Economies of scale does not apply and in the early stages of development it may even be counter productive to focus on profits. The focus should be on yields per hectare and you can achieve that only with small farms. A large amount of workforce (usually more than three fourths) tend to be employed in agriculture. Moreover, a healthy market tend to be developed when farmers spend their surplus income for purchasing other goods. Toyota for instance started out producing goods for largely rural population in Japan. This also helped them understanding marketing skills.
In a developing country, the key task is to start with a low value added Industry to kick start the process of Industrialisation. Just like you do not try to compete in Olympiads in programming after taking a Semester worth of Courses in C, you do not try to get to advanced Industry first. The task starts from trying to get into basic and light Industry first. The Investment into basic Industry came from savings of farmers which are to be put into the banks to be loaned out to the Industry. To understand the Industrial policy of South Korea, we need to understand the background of the country's leader of the time: Park Chung Hee. Hee was a military general who through his coup overthrew a weak and floundering government of Rhee. Park Chung Hee had served with the Japanese Imperial Army and was a keen observer of the kind of policy that was pursued by Japan during Meiji era as well as the policy pursued post World War 2. He sought to apply to it to South Korea as well. For that he needed a State agency like Japan's MITI (Ministry of Trade and Industry). The basis of bureaucratic State Capitalism lay in the lack of development of productive forces which led to a strengthening of bureaucracy and bureaucratic rule. In essence, the bureaucracy undertook developmental functions in the words of Chalmers Johnson, the American social scientist who extensively studied Japanese economic policy. In the developed West, the State was merely divided among various sectional Capitalist interests and lot of time was spent in catering to interest of this or that group. The bureaucracy thus was not independent as it had no economic basis to it create it's rule unlike in East Asia where it acquired enormous power thanks to it's ability to direct the economy through "Five Year Plans", control of credit through the banking sector and administrative guidance regardless of whether the businesses wanted it or not.
Baringo can raise beef for the whole of Africa, but poor govt policies, or lack of have kept the region stagnant.
I dont know what policy is needed other than simple investment. Baringo, samburu and pokot counties main economic activity is livestock. Yet we don't have even one feedlot in the three counties. If there were just a couple of investors in each county to buy the dying animals and feed them it would have gone along way to alleviate the problem. The three counties have very wealthy people who are putting up buildings in nakuru and nairobi yet none dare invest in their own counties. I heard that marakwet is now called home of choppers. Last week a bunch of us from nyandarua were in samburu and baringo counties buying livestock to fatten in Nyandarua county,I which we had more capacity mainly fodder and land, the return might be well over 400%.
Beef in kenya is expensive in nairobi ksh.500-600, if the pastoral communities embraced modern ranching and range management they could increase output which would lower the price of beef to a level that most families can afford beef daily. Which would in turn expand the overall market.
Baringo can raise beef for the whole of Africa, but poor govt policies, or lack of have kept the region stagnant.
I dont know what policy is needed other than simple investment. Baringo, samburu and pokot counties main economic activity is livestock. Yet we don't have even one feedlot in the three counties. If there were just a couple of investors in each county to buy the dying animals and feed them it would have gone along way to alleviate the problem. The three counties have very wealthy people who are putting up buildings in nakuru and nairobi yet none dare invest in their own counties. I heard that marakwet is now called home of choppers. Last week a bunch of us from nyandarua were in samburu and baringo counties buying livestock to fatten in Nyandarua county,I which we had more capacity mainly fodder and land, the return might be well over 400%.
Beef in kenya is expensive in nairobi ksh.500-600, if the pastoral communities embraced modern ranching and range management they could increase output which would lower the price of beef to a level that most families can afford beef daily. Which would in turn expand the overall market.
Take a look at the countries that have done well in feeding themselves---both recent transformations as well as the standard "international community" that we wail to when we are starving (regularly, like clockwork). Those countries have not succeeded solely on the basis of heroic, manly farmers or upright, good citizens looking out for the stomachs of their compatriots and investing accordingly. What you will find are serious government policies that have been carefully crafted and then put into action.
No feedlot in the counties you mention? How about a public-private partnership to set up some? How about subsidies or tax credits for private types who set up some? How about the government providing the infrastructure that would make it easy and economical to set up? We have a national problem, and a couple of guys from Nyandaru going around to buy desperate animals from desperate people is neither a desirable nor sustainable solution.
It is amazing that in the 21st century we still see ourselves as being at the mercy of nature and go around begging for food whenever the rains fail. And at the very same time, we keep shouting about how we are a country on the rise (and regional powerhouse) that will be an industrialized country within 13 years! Even in the middle of a drought, spending more (and planning to spend more) on gadgets for toddlers than on irrigation! Which is ven more amazing when one considers that something like a quarter of Kenyan children will not develop properly--- physically and mentally and irreversibly so---because of a lack of proper nutrition.
Yes the government should concentrate on infrastructure and security. In terms of infrastructure e.g it used to take a whole day from Rimuruti to Maralal (samburu) and its only 120km. Now its just 1 hr , more interior roads need to be done even if its better murram. The security is a major a problem, an outsider would have difficulty time investing in a feedlot with accompanying dam for irrigation to grow fodder. In dry season the locals would just invade the farm if not worse. To construct a 1 acre dam it cost about 4m so clearly, a lot of people or the county/central government can afford to construct several dams. In some of this areas there need not be a major intervention, basically planting fodder during the rainy season then storing it for the dry season and dams for water would suffice. There's no need for subsidies or even tax credit just get the counties to build dams and national government to ensure security.
There's plenty of food in kenya its only people without money that are starving(go to kapenguria or maralal and there's everything). The solution is to make sure the locals engage in an economic activity that they can derive income from. Guys like us from Nyandarua are providing a valuable service, buying off this animals so that they can have money to buy food. And this are livestock people they sell their animals to make money. Rimuruti in likipia is a major livestock market where baringo,pokots and samburu sell their animals every thursday. The buyers are normally from nakuru/nairobi and central kenya. You can buy anything from emaciated livestock to fatten to ready to slaughter livestock. Even one Mureithi nderitu has invested in a modern abattoir https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000132105/firm-puts-sh220m-in-meat-firm
I agree food can be and should be cheaper in kenya. I had pointed that out to empedocle Beef in kenya is expensive in nairobi ksh.500-600, if the pastoral communities embraced modern ranching and range management they could increase output which would lower the price of beef to a level that most families can afford beef daily. Which would in turn expand the overall market. . Yes we need large scale farming using modern techniques, in pastoral areas communities can form cooperatives to grow fodder, or the counties to be encouraged to buy tractors that can be rent out to farmers to plow/till land to grow fodder. Maize in kenya is expensive because of the artificial high prices set by National cereals board. As a result grains used for chicken feeds are expensive end result being expensive chicken.Yes the government should concentrate on infrastructure and security. In terms of infrastructure e.g it used to take a whole day from Rimuruti to Maralal (samburu) and its only 120km. Now its just 1 hr , more interior roads need to be done even if its better murram. The security is a major a problem, an outsider would have difficulty time investing in a feedlot with accompanying dam for irrigation to grow fodder. In dry season the locals would just invade the farm if not worse. To construct a 1 acre dam it cost about 4m so clearly, a lot of people or the county/central government can afford to construct several dams. In some of this areas there need not be a major intervention, basically planting fodder during the rainy season then storing it for the dry season and dams for water would suffice. There's no need for subsidies or even tax credit just get the counties to build dams and national government to ensure security.
There's plenty of food in kenya its only people without money that are starving(go to kapenguria or maralal and there's everything). The solution is to make sure the locals engage in an economic activity that they can derive income from. Guys like us from Nyandarua are providing a valuable service, buying off this animals so that they can have money to buy food. And this are livestock people they sell their animals to make money. Rimuruti in likipia is a major livestock market where baringo,pokots and samburu sell their animals every thursday. The buyers are normally from nakuru/nairobi and central kenya. You can buy anything from emaciated livestock to fatten to ready to slaughter livestock. Even one Mureithi nderitu has invested in a modern abattoir https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000132105/firm-puts-sh220m-in-meat-firm
That's only part of the story. The "unavailability" of food doesn't literally mean that there is no food; it also has to do with there being enough so that it is easily affordable. So, in that sense, Kenya does not have much food right now. Food in Kenya is actually very expensive. The cost of a whole chicken in Kenya is probably not that different from that in, say, the UK, and that's without taking into account the huge disparity in average incomes. The same will cost about half in China, and, again that's raw figures that don't take into account disparities in incomes. If one scales for income differences, then it is evident that Kenyans are paying through the nose to eat.
So what is required is agricultural production on such a scale that prices force prices to go down but the sales will be of a magnitude that will keep the produces in the gravy. Keep in mind that a real problem in Kenya at such times is that of people hoarding food, e.g. even maize, to drive up prices, something that would not be possible with the large-scale production of affordable food. To look at it simply as a lack of money---and, as RV Pundit has proposed, use MPESA to send money to the starving---misses a huge part of the picture and ensures that the problem will persist.
Yes, you guys from Nyandarua are indeed providing a service, in that you are helping the people eat for a bit longer, although there is some amusing irony in the idea of farmers in a scheme that involves others "buying off this animals so that they can have money to buy food". But what happens next year, after they have eaten that money and there is another drought? And, anyway, how many of the starving 2-million+ have livestock to sell to Nyandarua?
We have become a nation of thieves, hustlers, and assorted smoke-and-mirrors types. From top to bottom. A change is urgently needed. We need to first focus on the basics---food, health (simple clean water and toilets etc.), individual security, and so forth---and the disciplined planning and hard work that is required to deliver on those. And it is the government that should lead on that. From top to bottom. Right now we have the absurdity of the Deputy President showing up to tout the government's successes---preparing today's toddlers to be tomorrow's online billionaires!---in a place where people and starving (and for whom the government is sending our urgent "please help!" messages), a place from which he has had to run away because of never-ending banditry!
There's nothing wrong with farmers selling to other farmers, Texas cattle country holds quarterly cattle auction where farmers buy cattle from other farmers depending on their need.
"buying off this animals so that they can have money to buy food"
Education in this areas is really essential even for adults so that the herders can get more modern techniques.
Whether there's drought or not they'd be selling their livestock, its what they do for a living. Generally speaking they sell their livestock to buy food among other things. The problem is some of them held on to their livestock for too long instead of destocking so that they could be left with manageable stock.There's nothing wrong with farmers selling to other farmers, Texas cattle country holds quarterly cattle auction where farmers buy cattle from other farmers depending on their need.
I see no problem with the basic idea, but this is a thread on the starving in Kenya, and you gave usQuote"buying off this animals so that they can have money to buy food"
I'm pretty sure the folks in Texas are not selling because they are in danger of starvation.QuoteEducation in this areas is really essential even for adults so that the herders can get more modern techniques.
Indeed. And another way in which the government could make itself useful.
Hj - you've got some good ideas there. I would say security need to be top priority - it seem almost all semi-arid areas in kenya suffer from serious cattle rustling menace - that needed to be stamped out - and then people including you and me can go to Baringo or Pokot to do ranch or as i suspect to engage in minning.We need to borrow a leaf from Museveni and tame the wild north. This has to be done through more police stations - more roads - more communication towers. However knowing the return on investment there is doubtful - may best to hive off these areas and let mineral explorers try some magic.
I agree security is paramount and maybe we should borrow a leaf from Uganda. If there are minerals that are economically viable, exploration should be encouraged. I am yet to see the mineral mapping paper that suppose to show where likely minerals are. The mining and ranching can coexist depending on type of minerals. If this areas increased their economic output kenya would be growing by over 10%. Just by doing very simple modern range and breeding management. The funniest thing is those counties and laikipia are the biggest manure exporters to other counties.
Yap - the last serious geological mapping was done by British
Uhuru had appealed for international aid to help mitigate the drought situation that has affected people, livestock and wildlife in several counties mostly in Northern, Coastal and far North Rift regions.http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/03/04/uae-donates-150-tonnes-of-food-for-the-hungry-in-drought-stricken_c1518001
The world will probably see that the food was donated by the United Arab Emirates...80% desert.QuoteUhuru had appealed for international aid to help mitigate the drought situation that has affected people, livestock and wildlife in several counties mostly in Northern, Coastal and far North Rift regions.http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/03/04/uae-donates-150-tonnes-of-food-for-the-hungry-in-drought-stricken_c1518001
So great was the occasion and so grateful the nation (or at least His Excellency & Friends) that the food had to first go to State House (past all the starving all over the place) to be launched (or however one describes these events):
(http://www.the-star.co.ke/sites/default/files/styles/new_full_content/public/articles/2017/03/04/1518077.jpg?itok=xRGuXKie)
This was Uhuru last month ... at about the same time his "urgent" plea went out:
(http://www.the-star.co.ke/sites/default/files/styles/new_full_content/public/articles/2017/02/09/1503417.jpg?itok=PQ8kIW5U)
That is how the world sees it: dancing and having fun while begging for food. Economic powerhouse of Eastern Africa.
QuoteUhuru had appealed for international aid to help mitigate the drought situation that has affected people, livestock and wildlife in several counties mostly in Northern, Coastal and far North Rift regions.http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/03/04/uae-donates-150-tonnes-of-food-for-the-hungry-in-drought-stricken_c1518001
So great was the occasion and so grateful the nation (or at least His Excellency & Friends) that the food had to first go to State House (past all the starving all over the place) to be launched (or however one describes these events):
(http://www.the-star.co.ke/sites/default/files/styles/new_full_content/public/articles/2017/03/04/1518077.jpg?itok=xRGuXKie)
This was Uhuru last month ... at about the same time his "urgent" plea went out:
(http://www.the-star.co.ke/sites/default/files/styles/new_full_content/public/articles/2017/02/09/1503417.jpg?itok=PQ8kIW5U)
That is how the world sees it: dancing and having fun while begging for food. Economic powerhouse of Eastern Africa.
Hunger reaction wanting
Millions of households across the country are struggling to put food ... The government has responded with a number of panic prescriptions. .... This is entirely unacceptable because the government cannot claim to have been caught by surprise. The warnings about the impending drought were issued clearly and early.
This episode must not be repeated. The government needs to put into place common sense measures that will spare the country the agony of man-made disasters such as those the country is experiencing.
The culture of panic reactions even when clear warnings have been sounded in advance should end.
Give it time, keep the state out of it.
The fact that agricultural production continued to grow despite severe water and land limitations was no accident. It was the result of a unique Israeli phenomenon: the close and ongoing cooperation between researchers, extension workers, farmers and agriculture-related services and industries.
Continuous, application-oriented research and development (R&D) has been carried out in the country since the beginning of the last century. The agricultural sector today is based almost entirely on science-linked technology, with government agencies, academic institutions, industry and cooperative bodies working together to seek solutions and meet new challenges.
The Ministry of Agriculture's research body, the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), accounts for nearly 75 percent of all nationwide agricultural research. As such, it is the primary driving force behind Israel's internationally-acclaimed agricultural achievements. The ARO incorporates seven institutes on its main campus, and four off-campus experimental stations. Numerous ARO developments, particularly in irrigation, arid zone agriculture and unique varieties of fruits, vegetables and ornamentals have been commercialized in Israel and abroad.
Dealing with subjects ranging from plant genetics and blight control to arid zone cultivation, Israel's agricultural R&D has developed science-based technologies, which have dramatically enhanced the quantity and quality of the country's produce. The key to this success lies in the two-way flow of information between researchers and farmers.
You're beating a dead horse instead of suggesting solutions.
http://sunculture.com/
A drip kit is only 90K kes. I am aware they raised some good money from US VCs recently. They are gaining traction.
Getting a transformational government is a tougher bet than private industry. Those wazungu FDIs created M-PESA, are doing M-KOPA, SunCulture, etc, and are better news than the manifestoes and other miracles being flashed around for votes.
MOON Ki you have a point but we can't just write our own obituary. There is hope at the end of the tunnel.
Of course, there is hope. If I were not hopeful, I would not be on my one-at-a-time Awakening Mission.
It's easy to do well when kienyeji offers no competition and seems to lack the necessary imagination, whence the success of M-PESA. Agriculture is different: everyone is in it; and no imagination is necessary to, say, import cheaply and screw the locals.
M-KOPA: Their numbers, from inception to now, don't look that great; interesting to see how far they will go, given that the "donors" are dishing out to connect everyone to the grid and everyone is jumping into M-Something micro-financing. Not too long ago, Bloomberg wrote an article that was supposed to be all positive about this sort of thing. The unintentionally-ironic title of their article made me stop and think:
"The Solar Company Making a Profit on Poor Africans"
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-mkopa-solar-in-africa/
Government to subsidise unga to retail at ksh.90 per 2kg packet.http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/State-sets-price-of-maize-flour-at-Sh90-a-packet-in-subsidy-plan/539546-3928914-qfmuwcz/index.html . I am very skeptical about this, I can remember nusu mkate government had initiated something like this. The subsidized unga was mainly for low income areas. What happened was clever folks would buy the subsidized unga repackage it under normal brand and sell at very good profit. Having subsidized unga and normal unga in the same market the government is goading traders to take advantage of the obvious price difference.
So what is your solution? Do have any idea... anything at all... that doesn't involve the "private sector"?No I don't have a solution that doesn't involve private sector. After all there are no government millers, supermarkets or distributors, so private sector has to be involved.
So what is your solution? Do have any idea... anything at all... that doesn't involve the "private sector"?No I don't have a solution that doesn't involve private sector. After all there are no government millers, supermarkets or distributors, so private sector has to be involved.
So let's have it for interrogationI'd have found out how many tonnes of expensive maize that the millers have in stock. Then find out how many tonnes of cheap maize needed to be imported (combined with the current expensive miller stock) to reduce the price of unga to the desired price.Import then sell to millers so that they can produce the regular jogoo or soko at the desired price. That way the price of "jogoo" would come down for every kenyan. The expensive maize can also be milled for brands that aren't price sensitive (fine refined) e.g hostess unga . This would reduce the price of regular brands and there wont be a branded subsidized unga label in the market that the traders can easily repackage and sell at regular price or worse engage in hoarding.So what is your solution? Do have any idea... anything at all... that doesn't involve the "private sector"?No I don't have a solution that doesn't involve private sector. After all there are no government millers, supermarkets or distributors, so private sector has to be involved.
I'd have found out how many tonnes of expensive maize that the millers have in stock. Then find out how many tonnes of cheap maize needed to be imported (combined with the current expensive miller stock) to reduce the price of unga to the desired price. Import then sell to millers so that they can produce the regular jogoo or soko at the desired price. That way the price of "jogoo" would come down for every kenyan. The expensive maize can also be milled for brands that aren't price sensitive (fine refined) e.g hostess unga . This would reduce the price of regular brands and there wont be a branded subsidized unga label in the market that the traders can easily repackage and sell at regular price or worse engage in hoarding.
I have no figures but I believe 70% plus of Kenyans are not dependent on the large scale millers but on small posho mills which only grind the grain they bring in for a small fee.The posho mill group especially in rural areas are farmers who take their maize produce to posho mill for grinding so technically its their maize. They don't buy maize to grind into unga. So now if they don't have maize they are buying packaged unga.
So your solution will be addressing the 30% or so who are urbanized and buy their unga from supermarkets and are slaves of the "Private Millers" which are obviously not owned by the government. A goof number are Kikuyu owned.
http://www.businesslist.co.ke/companies/millers
1. How will you stop them exporting your cheap maize to the neighboring countries where they would fetch higher prices and create a shortage in Kenya?1. Already you'd have taken the stock of all available expensive maize and the cheap imported maize is duty free. So at the border the duty would have to paid thus discouraging exportation. 2.No millers wont be forced to sell what they have that's why one is to take stock of what they have now then calculate what needs to be imported to combine the two to lower price to desired level. Taking into account in about 3 months cheaper maize will be coming on-board as harvesting season starts.
2. I assume you will force the millers to sell whatever they have in their stores. Do you have any legal basis for that?
3. How about I decide to call your bluff and keep buying and storing. Remember George Soros and Lamont? It was about money but let us apply it ugali. How long can GOK go before it throws in the towel?
1. How will you stop them exporting your cheap maize to the neighboring countries where they would fetch higher prices and create a shortage in Kenya?1. Already you'd have taken the stock of all available expensive maize and the cheap imported maize is duty free. So at the border the duty would have to paid thus discouraging exportation. 2.No millers wont be forced to sell what they have that's why one is to take stock of what they have now then calculate what needs to be imported to combine the two to lower price to desired level. Taking into account in about 3 months cheaper maize will be coming on-board as harvesting season starts.
2. I assume you will force the millers to sell whatever they have in their stores. Do you have any legal basis for that?
3. How about I decide to call your bluff and keep buying and storing. Remember George Soros and Lamont? It was about money but let us apply it ugali. How long can GOK go before it throws in the towel?
3. Yes, you can call it a bluff and keep buying and storing but that would mean right now you'd be selling expensive unga while other millers are selling cheaply eroding "your" marketshare.
Have you ever been to any border? Namanga? Busia? Bungoma? Moyale?So the reason why its not practical is cause of corruption? If that's the case fully liberalize the sector let anyone import whatever amount of maize they want without requirement for importation license. Hell why even import maize just import the unga.
No offence intended from the bottom of my heart but what you are proposing is beyond naive.
That BTW is the current policy which is NOT working. The export of maize is forbidden leave alone taxing it. It is illegal! The amount of grain stored anywhere in Kenya is known or supposed to be known. The ministry uses that data to determine the grain shortfall and set import quotas which are supposed to be subject to biding.
HK baba, it NEVER works. Here is what happens:
1. Maize is exported to wherever the price is right. From Uganda to DRC (very lucrative) to South Sudan and Ethiopia (slowed down when Ethiopia resorted to confiscating the contraband and executing the transporters on the spot)
2. Grain is imported at will and either kept in storage abroad (Mauritius and Durban) waiting for engineered shortages) or brought in as good in transit then diverted with the full help of the officers you rely on to stop its export!
3. Learn about the so called "harvesting Season" in Kenya especially how long it lasts, Baba HK. In some places in Kenya it is never there if so, it lasts about 2 weeks. Maize shortage in Kenya is a permanent situation that only gets worse in some years. There is no maize that has rotted away because of a bumper harvest, Baba HK. Even Pundit can bear witness on this one.
Maize is a commodity that earns money all year round. Yes perhaps some poor man could hoard 20 bags and discover them damaged. A guy moving 10000 bags and above Baba HK would move it to any part of the country,k sell to NCPB at his price and for a cut to all involved, get KPA/ KRA documents as having imported it... what can I tell you?
End corruption and may be... may be .. you end The Grain Shortage Business. The Shortage is the business. Just watch how they are going to play the GoK over it 90 Shilling Experiment.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_6z-_BXgAATV5M.jpg)
So the reason why its not practical is cause of corruption? If that's the case fully liberalize the sector let anyone import whatever amount of maize they want without requirement for importation license. Hell why even import maize just import the unga.