Inflation record: April's 11.48% inflation a 57-month high, was 10.28% in March #NTVBusiness @LabanCliff pic.twitter.com/3seWcs64FE
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) April 28, 2017
Eggs are selling @10bob. Petrol @83.Electricity down by 25%. Some fares have reduced.Let me cite the same paper you cited:
Now companies are starting to reduce manufactured goods prices.
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Bidco-cuts-cooking-oil-prices-on-low-energy-costs/-/539550/2641766/-/n3fakjz/-/index.html
If low global oil prices hold and investment in power sector comes fruition, the SGR come on board, and the 10,000 tarmac roads under annuity programme...we could be back to Moi era low inflation (except in 93-96).Consumer federation and activism need to demand price reduction in every good and service now.
Kibaki grew the economy but hyperinflation eroded any effect on mwananchi.
Once rain resume we will be fineWe are left at the mercy of the elements! I thought we had a dynamic duo with solutions to everything! If running government is just waiting for the rain to drop why, any monkey can do it! We no duo, do we?
As Kenyans celebrate Labour Day tomorrow, uncertainty over job security looms as more companies plan to reduce staff in the next six months, citing an unfavourable business environment.
Decline in credit extended to goods makers also points to lean times for the Kenyan worker. Lenders are citing the law putting a ceiling on interest rates as the reason they are opting for government paper (debt securities that are issued or guaranteed by State).
Financial, manufacturing, agriculture and transport sectors are expected to be hard hit due to disruptive technologies arising from advances in Information Technology (IT), completion of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and harsh weather conditions.
With the new railway expected to drive a number of trucks off the roads, there are fears that a number of people will find themselves jobless.
Experts in financial and manufacturing sectors have also been criticising Parliament for passing the interest rate capping law.
However, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is currently conducting a study on the law and its impact on the economy with the outcome expected next month.
The survey follows concerns of slow growth in credit advance following the enactment of the law in September last year.
“That study is meant to assist lawmakers to make a decision on whether that law should remain or whether it is affecting the economy and whether it should be changed,” said CBK chairman Mohammed Nyaoga in Nairobi at a meeting hosted by Creditinfo Credit Bureau for bank executives.
Banks have warned that they will divert more funds to Treasury Bills and other investments in the forex market rather than lending to traditional borrowers as they consider government debt less risky and more profitable.
CBK data shows that private sector credit growth fell to 4.3 per cent in December last year compared to more than 17 per cent in 2015.
And the Economic Survey 2017 report by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that loans advanced to manufacturing sector by industrial financial institutions and commercial banks shrank for the first time in five years by 4.6 per cent.
From the report, total loans advanced decreased from Sh290.9 billion in 2015 to Sh277.4 billion last year. Commercial banks advanced Sh289.727 billion in 2015 compared to Sh276.359 billion last year.
In 2015 there were 251 approved projects compared to 365 last year, mainly due to the rise in the number of micro and small enterprises financed by Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE).
The financing of projects approved by industrial financial institutions decreased by 4.6 per cent from Sh1.135 million in 2015 to Sh1.083 million in 2016.
Industrial Development Bank (IDB) Capital Ltd approved Sh129.8 million last year compared to Sh252 million the previous year.
“The loans advanced to manufacturing projects in 2016 were for expansion of existing projects and one start-up,” the Economic Survey 2017 states.
Development Bank of Kenya (DBK) approved six manufacturing projects in food, textiles, plastics and polythene bags activities.
The value of the approved projects reduced from Sh341 million in 2015 to Sh292.3 million last year.
The Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) approved loans and equity worth Sh495.6 million for four manufacturing projects.
The Kenya Investment Authority approved 43 manufacturing projects worth Sh11.1 billion last year, a reduction from 48 projects worth Sh8.8 billion approved in the previous year.
In the transport sector, KNBS data shows that registration of lorries/trucks declined by 30.1 per cent from 13,785 units in 2015 to 9,632 units last year.
“Similarly, new registration of buses and coaches decreased by 24.6 per cent from 2,342 units to 1,765 units during the review period,” Economic Survey 2017 says.
Few matatus
The number of newly registered trailers fell by 27.6 per cent to 2,829 units while those of other vehicles reduced by 35.8 per cent from 2,522 units to 1,618 units during the review period.
In addition, newly registered mini buses/matatus dropped by 10.7 per cent from 581 units in 2015 to 519 units last year.
From the above, indications are that less and less jobs are going to be created going forward.
A toxic mix of economics, bad weather and conflict is fueling record starvation levels in Africa, as prices of staple foods touch records in half the continent’s 54 countries amid the worst harvests in three decades.
The countries worst affected, including South Sudan, Somalia and northern Nigeria, are plagued by civil war. But even in relatively stable regions, rising inflation and foreign-exchange shortages have exacerbated conditions.
Falling commodity prices across central and southern Africa have sent currencies more than 30% lower against the dollar in the past six months, spiking inflation and undermining purchasing power.
“The corn price doubled again last month,” said Sarah Mweene, a 38-year-old taxi driver from Lusaka, copper-rich Zambia’s capital, where in March eight people died in a stampede of thousands of people who were lined up for emergency food rations. “We can only afford one meal a day for the children.…It’s never happened before.”
In commodity-dependent Zambia, churches converted into food banks are filling beyond capacity as crowds join all-night lines for corn handouts.
On a recent day, thousands of people marched on a sports stadium in Lusaka, where a church was donating free food. Mobs forced the stadium’s steel doors open, snatching cooking oil, corn meal, salt and anything else they could find.
The government is seeking an emergency $1.6 billion International Monetary Fund loan to aid the economy.
Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya said shortages and rising prices are the government’s big challenge, but hopes the situation will stabilize in the coming months, when supplies from the 2017 harvest start to trickle in.
To be sure, commodity prices have moderately recovered since last year, but they remain more than 50% below their 2013 peak, according to the World Bank. While the commodity crash has forced countries like Nigeria and Angola to put more effort into creating sustainable agricultural production, many remain net food importers, exposing citizens to shocks of weakened currencies.
In Uganda, meanwhile, a historic drought and surging food prices have forced thousands from the countryside to beg on the streets of the capital. The nation, usually a surplus food producer, ran out of grain stocks in December, government officials said.
In Kampala’s main grain market, stalls are largely empty, as Uganda’s weakening currency pushes up the price of imported grains, preventing importers from replenishing stocks.
Supermarket owner Stephen Opolot said the economic crunch is the worst since he opened his supermarket seven years ago. He owes a local commercial bank around $6,000 and as sales dwindle, he can no longer raise enough money to pay for a monthly truckload of grain supplies.
“I don’t know whether I will be able to afford rent,” the 40-year-old said, pointing at empty shelves. “We have raised prices to meet costs, but sales keep dropping.”
Sliding currencies and a shortage of increasingly expensive dollars has some countries cutting back on food imports and freezing efforts to replenish stocks. The bulk of food imports into sub-Saharan Africa are dollar-denominated, which pushes up trade deficits and exposes poor economies to food-price inflation.
The worst harvests in three decades have also sent prices around 50% higher than their five-year average across many of the continent’s eastern and southern states, snaring millions of Africans never before affected by hunger, according to Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a U.S.-funded research group.
The United Nations, which has officially declared famine in South Sudan and warned parts of Nigeria and Somalia are edging toward starvation, has said shortages will worsen as the midyear lean season nears.
The U.N. said it needs $4.4 billion by July to address the food crisis, but by early April had raised just $984 million. Worsening crises in Syria, Yemen and Iraq are stretching budgets for aid groups, curtailing relief efforts. President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut $10 billion in foreign aid risks aggravating funding shortfalls, aid officials warn.
“This crisis is adding to the pressure felt by the overstretched and underfunded international humanitarian system,” said Nigel Tricks, Oxfam’s regional director for East Africa. “It’s overwhelming.”
Compared to other african countries kenya seems to weathering the storm that's the drought better than most countries. https://www.wsj.com/articles/economics-and-bad-weather-amplify-africas-food-crisis-1493636401This equivalence defence is now too worn out.
How much of the funds in Galana project have been used for infrastructure i.e dams, roads etc and how much has gone to food production? I agree kenya has no grain problem but the problem is lack of open market where maize locally is more expensive than world market due to price controls by National cereals board. Bottomline whether is milk or cereals we need increased productivity to lower prices of those commodities. A dairy farmer today who had invested in fodder is making a killing, price of raw milk is ksh.45.Compared to other african countries kenya seems to weathering the storm that's the drought better than most countries. https://www.wsj.com/articles/economics-and-bad-weather-amplify-africas-food-crisis-1493636401This equivalence defence is now too worn out.
The question is should Kenya be in that class comparing herself to the countries you allude to? What is the shortfall in maize production? Assuming the Galana project had actually been completed and money not stolen calculate how many bags we would get from 1.2 million acres if one acre were to produce the 40 - 50 bags planned? 48 - 60 M bags. This year alone the government expected 32 million bags! You can just see how small this problem is.
Kenya has no grain problem. The problems arise from the inability of the state to stop its supporters from engaging in the Grain Shortage Business.
How much of the funds in Galana project have been used for infrastructure i.e dams, roads etc and how much has gone to food production? I agree kenya has no grain problem but the problem is lack of open market where maize locally is more expensive than world market due to price controls by National cereals board.
Bottomline whether is milk or cereals we need increased productivity to lower prices of those commodities. A dairy farmer today who had invested in fodder is making a killing, price of raw milk is ksh.45.
HKNCPB sets the price of maize i.e create an artificial floor of the price of maize. The price of maize is always high compared to other comesa producers like zambia . By setting an artificially high price it enables inefficient producers to keep operating. I think a farmer Trans nzoia now produces 8bags an acre and going down. This farmers have no incentive to increase productivity cause the NCPB will buy at artificially high price and they make money. This is where arbitrage play of importing cheap maize from world market and selling it at high price in kenya comes in. That also applies to sugar.
It was my assumption that you knew a little bit about Project management. The Galana- Kulalu is a project whose super objective is increased food production leading to self sufficiency in grain (to paraphrase generally).
All tenets of the project - be it infrastructure, dams, (roads are part of infrastructure) etc must geared towards meeting the objective of the project. Thus a road being constructed as part of the project is not an aside, if you will. It is part and parcel of the project as designed and budgeted for. At completion, the project was supposed to produce 40 - 50 plus bags per acre at the minimum to be clear - using the infrastructure, including roads and dams! In other words and so we are clear, all the billions allocated for the project were meant for food production.
That has NOT happened. Yet Uhuru Kenyatta calls it a success and lists it among the achievements of Jubilee in his portal of LIES.
I have no idea where you got the idea that maize is price controlled. Price controls are only found on petroleum - nothing else. You can sell maize at any price you wish.
About the open market, there is such a huge market for the maize that the price is gone through the roof.
The NCPB buys maize from farmers. It competes with many millers and retail traders freely. The price dynamics work quite well. If the NCPB pays peanuts, farmers sell to millers, private retailers or simply store izt and wait for price improvements. That is not a proper role for NCPB. It has unlimited storage capacity around the country which it has leased to private maize buyers and even hardware owners. The reason for building that capacity was so it could buy maize when the price was low and get rid of old stocks the same way the central bank releases cash in the market to stabilize the currency.
Instead the NCPB receives directives from the President and Ruto to raise prices so that they can benefit from high prices. It runs out money and grain having sold it at the wrong time. The corruption in it is such that it sometimes pays for maize NOT delivered.
Productivity cannot be increased unless the government takes action to tame cartels and end corruption. Those who benefit from importing maize like Ruto's son, have no interest in increased local production and can therefore import fake fertilizer to dampen production so they can create shortfalls that allow them to sell their cheap imports.
There are anti-trust laws in Kenya which should have prevented one company from developing a monopoly over milk. I need not name it, do I?
There is no provision for long term storage of milk beyond the usual 15 days (forget the lie about 3 months). As an interested party Uhuru cannot regulate milk companies.How much of the funds in Galana project have been used for infrastructure i.e dams, roads etc and how much has gone to food production? I agree kenya has no grain problem but the problem is lack of open market where maize locally is more expensive than world market due to price controls by National cereals board.
Bottomline whether is milk or cereals we need increased productivity to lower prices of those commodities. A dairy farmer today who had invested in fodder is making a killing, price of raw milk is ksh.45.
HKNCPB sets the price of maize i.e create an artificial floor of the price of maize. The price of maize is always high compared to other comesa producers like zambia . By setting an artificially high price it enables inefficient producers to keep operating. I think a farmer Trans nzoia now produces 8bags an acre and going down. This farmers have no incentive to increase productivity cause the NCPB will buy at artificially high price and they make money. This is where arbitrage play of importing cheap maize from world market and selling it at high price in kenya comes in. That also applies to sugar.
It was my assumption that you knew a little bit about Project management. The Galana- Kulalu is a project whose super objective is increased food production leading to self sufficiency in grain (to paraphrase generally).
All tenets of the project - be it infrastructure, dams, (roads are part of infrastructure) etc must geared towards meeting the objective of the project. Thus a road being constructed as part of the project is not an aside, if you will. It is part and parcel of the project as designed and budgeted for. At completion, the project was supposed to produce 40 - 50 plus bags per acre at the minimum to be clear - using the infrastructure, including roads and dams! In other words and so we are clear, all the billions allocated for the project were meant for food production.
That has NOT happened. Yet Uhuru Kenyatta calls it a success and lists it among the achievements of Jubilee in his portal of LIES.
I have no idea where you got the idea that maize is price controlled. Price controls are only found on petroleum - nothing else. You can sell maize at any price you wish.
About the open market, there is such a huge market for the maize that the price is gone through the roof.
The NCPB buys maize from farmers. It competes with many millers and retail traders freely. The price dynamics work quite well. If the NCPB pays peanuts, farmers sell to millers, private retailers or simply store izt and wait for price improvements. That is not a proper role for NCPB. It has unlimited storage capacity around the country which it has leased to private maize buyers and even hardware owners. The reason for building that capacity was so it could buy maize when the price was low and get rid of old stocks the same way the central bank releases cash in the market to stabilize the currency.
Instead the NCPB receives directives from the President and Ruto to raise prices so that they can benefit from high prices. It runs out money and grain having sold it at the wrong time. The corruption in it is such that it sometimes pays for maize NOT delivered.
Productivity cannot be increased unless the government takes action to tame cartels and end corruption. Those who benefit from importing maize like Ruto's son, have no interest in increased local production and can therefore import fake fertilizer to dampen production so they can create shortfalls that allow them to sell their cheap imports.
There are anti-trust laws in Kenya which should have prevented one company from developing a monopoly over milk. I need not name it, do I?
There is no provision for long term storage of milk beyond the usual 15 days (forget the lie about 3 months). As an interested party Uhuru cannot regulate milk companies.How much of the funds in Galana project have been used for infrastructure i.e dams, roads etc and how much has gone to food production? I agree kenya has no grain problem but the problem is lack of open market where maize locally is more expensive than world market due to price controls by National cereals board.
Bottomline whether is milk or cereals we need increased productivity to lower prices of those commodities. A dairy farmer today who had invested in fodder is making a killing, price of raw milk is ksh.45.
Milk industry is fully liberalized and kenya isn't producing enough milk. Already we import powder milk (check local supermarkets). In the dry season milk production goes down by about 40% to 50%. This is because our farmers don't invest in fodder or embrace modern dairy farming techniques.
Galana, most of the work has been done is the infrastructure. Later government will lease out the land to private sector to produce maize etc.
Deputy President William Ruto has said the maximum amount the government would buy a 90kg bag of maize was Sh2,800.
Speaking at Ziwa AIC Church on Sunday, the DP said the price would not be changed though the government would subsidise fertiliser and seeds in the next planting season.
“Let us accept this price this year because it is what the government can afford,” Mr Ruto said.
The DP added that the price of fertiliser would be lowered to Sh1,800 from the current Sh2,000.
This could be a relief to thousands of North Rift maize farmers who opposed last week’s announcement of Sh2,200 for a 90kg bag. They wanted a bag to go for Sh3,500.
Middlemen took advantage of the delayed purchase by the National Cereals and Produce Board to buy a sack of maize for as low as Sh1,200.
ADOPT MODERN TECHNIQUES
Mr Ruto said the prices of other crucial inputs would also be lowered before the next planting season.
“We are aware that the recently announced price may not be what our farmers expected but they can be assured that next year’s cultivation will be less costly,” the Deputy President said.
He also hinted at plans to reduce the price of a 50kg maize seed bag though he did not specify the new price. A bag is currently sold at Sh4,500.
However, the DP said farmers should adopt modern techniques.
“We should learn to produce quality maize because the market is free and competition is very stiff,” he told the farmers.
He also told them to take their produce to NCPB depots quickly in order to beat the last minute rush.
At the same time, leaders from North Rift, the country’s bread basket, have appealed to the government to increase the price of a sack of maize to Sh3,500.
Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno said the price set was very low but added that farmers needed to take advantage of county-sponsored soil testing programme to increase their produce.
MAIZE NECROSIS
Maize Necrosis Disease ravaged up to 5,000 acres in Nandi, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo-Marakwet and Trans Nzoia Counties. Soil acidity also accounted greatly to losses incurred by farmers this year.
Some leaders from Trans Nzoia, led by Saboti MP David Wafula, said farmers would make losses if they sold their produce to the NCPB at the price set last week.
“Fertiliser was subsidised long after farmers had planted their maize. The new price is still very low,” he said.
He accused the Agriculture Ministry of poor planning which he said was evident through the delayed purchase of maize.
“The government should quickly address this situation or we will withdraw our support for the Jubilee Coalition,” he spoke at a youth football tournament in Matisi.
Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa said the government was killing one of the greatest contributors to the GDP through setting low prices for maize and doing away with incentives.
“Maize farming is one of the country’s top earners. Killing it will definitely affect the country’s economic growth,” Dr Wamalwa said at Matumbai on Saturday.
NO ECONOMIC SENSE
Separately, West Pokot Senator John Lonyangapuo claimed there was a deliberate move to kill agriculture in the North Rift and western Kenya.
“The same people who destabilised the market for sugarcane farmers in Western Kenya have shifted focus to maize farmers in the North Rift,” Prof Lonyangapuo said.
Kenya National farmers Federation Trans Nzoia County chairman William Kimosong said the Sh2,300 per 90kg bag price announced on Wednesday did not make economic sense.
Mr Kimosong called on the Agriculture Cabinet secretary Felix Koskei to raise the price to at least Sh3,000.
NCPB sets the price of maize i.e create an artificial floor of the price of maize. The price of maize is always high compared to other comesa producers like zambia . By setting an artificially high price it enables inefficient producers to keep operating.
I think a farmer Trans nzoia now produces 8bags an acre and going down. This farmers have no incentive to increase productivity cause the NCPB will buy at artificially high price and they make money. This is where arbitrage play of importing cheap maize from world market and selling it at high price in kenya comes in. That also applies to sugar.
Milk industry is fully liberalized and kenya isn't producing enough milk. Already we import powder milk (check local supermarkets). In the dry season milk production goes down by about 40% to 50%. This is because our farmers don't invest in fodder or embrace modern dairy farming techniques.
Galana, most of the work has been done is the infrastructure. Later government will lease out the land to private sector to produce maize etc.
HK
Like I said, the NCPB is not living up to its mandate nor latent abilities. I partially agree that the NCPB sets too high prices at times when they are low. This invariably comes from the Executive (see story below). To be fair Ruto is following a well-beaten path which started after independence with Ngei etc.
The NCPB should simply buy maize at the market price and buy when the price is lowest. It should stop buying once it reaches its targets - or crudely when all it stores are full. The reason Kenya sought aid to build these stores was to set up and maintain a Strategic Grain Reserve. The required capacity is supposed to be reviewed every year in line with population projections and consumer idiosyncrasies. I believe all that has been abandoned as political leaders of the ministries gang up with civil servants to make a quick back on the Grain Shortage Market.
Now Pundit can blame NASA and defend Jubilee but there is no escaping of culpability for the executive on this. Uhuru should have sent signals that grain is a matter of national security not subject to money making schemes of any kind. Moi sent Njonjo packing when he found his hand in the shortage of the 80s that led to yellow maize. It did nit recur until his own sons started making cash from maize.
That said, the prices set by the NCPB remain "high" for just a short while. After a few weeks no farmer would be caught selling his maize for those peanuts to the NCPB. Private millers take over and compete with speculators. My Kalenjin wife has been involved in that although I found for me it was more of an outing to see the farms and drink good tea on farms and eat a lot of Amandasi :D I paid the farmers what I thought was a fair price which my wife thought was eating in to the "profits"!!!
This frenzy goes on for a very brief period before all the people vanish to another location - say Narok, Londiani etc. Thus it makes no sense to fix the price based on one location which when the maize is harvested in another area, becomes laughable!
My point is that NCPB should be allowed to return to its core functions and be protected from vested interests. I see no reason why we would import any maize ever!
On the Galana project, I think you are struggling to defend Jubilee. Galana is a monumental failure that has made Eugene Wamalwa a billionaire. There is a lot of goalpost shifting and I would be surprised if leasing to well connected individuals is now the mantra which as we know will lead to "squatters" and resettlement and so on.
Once rain resume we will be fine
Compared to other african countries kenya seems to weathering the storm that's the drought better than most countries. https://www.wsj.com/articles/economics-and-bad-weather-amplify-africas-food-crisis-1493636401QuoteA toxic mix of economics, bad weather and conflict is fueling record starvation levels in Africa, as prices of staple foods touch records in half the continent’s 54 countries amid the worst harvests in three decades.
The countries worst affected, including South Sudan, Somalia and northern Nigeria, are plagued by civil war. But even in relatively stable regions, rising inflation and foreign-exchange shortages have exacerbated conditions.
Falling commodity prices across central and southern Africa have sent currencies more than 30% lower against the dollar in the past six months, spiking inflation and undermining purchasing power.
“The corn price doubled again last month,” said Sarah Mweene, a 38-year-old taxi driver from Lusaka, copper-rich Zambia’s capital, where in March eight people died in a stampede of thousands of people who were lined up for emergency food rations. “We can only afford one meal a day for the children.…It’s never happened before.”
In commodity-dependent Zambia, churches converted into food banks are filling beyond capacity as crowds join all-night lines for corn handouts.
On a recent day, thousands of people marched on a sports stadium in Lusaka, where a church was donating free food. Mobs forced the stadium’s steel doors open, snatching cooking oil, corn meal, salt and anything else they could find.
The government is seeking an emergency $1.6 billion International Monetary Fund loan to aid the economy.
Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya said shortages and rising prices are the government’s big challenge, but hopes the situation will stabilize in the coming months, when supplies from the 2017 harvest start to trickle in.
To be sure, commodity prices have moderately recovered since last year, but they remain more than 50% below their 2013 peak, according to the World Bank. While the commodity crash has forced countries like Nigeria and Angola to put more effort into creating sustainable agricultural production, many remain net food importers, exposing citizens to shocks of weakened currencies.
In Uganda, meanwhile, a historic drought and surging food prices have forced thousands from the countryside to beg on the streets of the capital. The nation, usually a surplus food producer, ran out of grain stocks in December, government officials said.
In Kampala’s main grain market, stalls are largely empty, as Uganda’s weakening currency pushes up the price of imported grains, preventing importers from replenishing stocks.
Supermarket owner Stephen Opolot said the economic crunch is the worst since he opened his supermarket seven years ago. He owes a local commercial bank around $6,000 and as sales dwindle, he can no longer raise enough money to pay for a monthly truckload of grain supplies.
“I don’t know whether I will be able to afford rent,” the 40-year-old said, pointing at empty shelves. “We have raised prices to meet costs, but sales keep dropping.”
Sliding currencies and a shortage of increasingly expensive dollars has some countries cutting back on food imports and freezing efforts to replenish stocks. The bulk of food imports into sub-Saharan Africa are dollar-denominated, which pushes up trade deficits and exposes poor economies to food-price inflation.
The worst harvests in three decades have also sent prices around 50% higher than their five-year average across many of the continent’s eastern and southern states, snaring millions of Africans never before affected by hunger, according to Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a U.S.-funded research group.
The United Nations, which has officially declared famine in South Sudan and warned parts of Nigeria and Somalia are edging toward starvation, has said shortages will worsen as the midyear lean season nears.
The U.N. said it needs $4.4 billion by July to address the food crisis, but by early April had raised just $984 million. Worsening crises in Syria, Yemen and Iraq are stretching budgets for aid groups, curtailing relief efforts. President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut $10 billion in foreign aid risks aggravating funding shortfalls, aid officials warn.
“This crisis is adding to the pressure felt by the overstretched and underfunded international humanitarian system,” said Nigel Tricks, Oxfam’s regional director for East Africa. “It’s overwhelming.”
Once rain resume we will be fine
There's something we can agree on NCPB, it should be just be a strategic reserve it shouldn't be interfering with the market. Our production per acre has to go up, so that not only to produce enough maize for human consumption but for livestock. If its not economically viable kenya should open the market and farmers can shift to other crops. Galana, surely you're not suggesting that the government be involved in actual farming? There's a very good irrigation scheme in mwea that's working. NIB put up the scheme, the farmers pay NIB for water used. The rice production, milling, marketing and packaging is fully liberalized.I believe if the NCPB is freed from and elevated above politics it can carry out its mandate.