May 11, 2007

Kenya has enough corn for short-term

The Kenyan government Thursday (May 10) gave assurances that there is enough corn to meet short-term domestic requirements, despite growing threats of depressed yields due to an erratic start of the long rains this year.

There are 4 million 90-kilogramme bags in the national strategic reserve with an additional 190,000 tonnes in other commercial depots nationwide and this is would be enough to sustain the population but for the short term, Maritim Kipserem, the spokesman at the government-run National Cereals and Produce Board said Thursday.

Last month, the state-run Meteorological Department warned of poor rainfall in key agricultural regions particularly grain-producing areas in the west of the Rift Valley and in some areas in the east of the Rift Valley. This prompted concerns of a famine.

"We cannot say there is enough food for the whole year, what we are saying is that the little corn we have in our reserve will be enough to sustain our domestic need at least for a short while," said Kipserem.

This comes a week after the UN Food and Agriculture Organization listed Kenya on its Global Information and Early Warning System saying that the east Africa nation is among those countries likely to suffer major food deficits this season, due to impaired crop development.

Corn is a staple food for Kenya's population of 32 million and it is grown mainly in the west of the Rift Valley region where 80 percent of annual output comes from.