'Eat cassava, millet or rice,' Agriculture CS Munya tells Kenyans on maize shortage

The government has reassured its commitment to addressing the current maize shortage in the country which has led to increased flour prices.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya on Friday said that Kenya was in talks with other countries to facilitate the importation of cheaper maize in the country to help in standardizing food prices.

Speaking in Nakuru, CS Munya called on Kenyans not to over-depend on maize, which is the country’s staple food but to try other types of indigenous foods amid the maize crisis.

“We are looking to remove the import charges and we have begun looking for maize in the neighbouring countries since our country has been experiencing drought. We are in talks with countries like Zambia and Uganda...and I don’t want to talk much before the deal is finalised,” he said.

“If you go through this agricultural show, you will see different types of food; it is good that Kenyans don’t eat only one type of food when they grow different varieties. For our bodies to have strength, we need to depend on other types of food other than maize.”

The CS went on to argue that Kenya as a country had its indigenous foods before the coming of the Europeans in the 20^th Century and it is the high time people seek alternatives for maize.

“In times of shortages, let’s also embrace other types of food so that we can be strong people. Maize was brought by Europeans, for those who are unaware it came in 1911 in Kenya and we forgot what we initially had,” he explained.

Despite promising to address the shortage, Munya still maintained that other traditional foods should be considered for better health and to reduce incurring costs.

“If I say that I don’t mean we won’t solve the issue, we will ensure we address the challenge. But let it be a lesson to us that we have cassava, millet, rice and other varieties in the country,” he said.

In regard to the current subsidy of Ksh 2 which has since raised an uproar, with Kenyans complaining it has no consequential impact, Munya said that the government was committed to doing more to ensure food prices are lowered.

“We are looking for maize and we will find it. The Ksh 2 is the minimum and we are exploiting ways to get cheaper maize from other countries.

He similarly dismissed claims that the importation would affect the farmers in the country with a lack of markets saying it was only needed for this specific duration when the country is experiencing a shortage.

"We are only targeting to buy the maize needed until October when framers will be harvesting, it is not meant to threaten farming but to fill the food gap we are experiencing because of drought," he noted.