Kenya Absent on The Africa’s Top 10 Most Food-Secure Countries

Kenya failed to appear on the list of top ten Africa countries with most food security.

In a list released by a South African based research firm, In On Africa, Kenya still has a long way to go in attaining food security.

The top ten most food-secure countries in Africa according to the report are:

1. Tunisia
2. Mauritius
3. Morocco
4. Algeria
5. Egypt
6. Gabon
7. South Africa
8. Ghana
9. Senegal
10. Namibia

Kenya has been under the mercy of a ravaging drought that left more than three million people at the brink of thirst and starvation.

In early 2017, the agricultural sector in the country was hard hit by an armyworm menace that destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres under maize plantation.

The maize harvest for 2017 dropped by more than a quarter as a result of the armyworm attack. The government has been blamed for dragging its feet in handling the problem.

During 2017 too, the government reserves almost ran dry forcing the government to import maize from Mexico after prices of a 2-kg pack of maize flour rose to a record high of 150 shillings.

Currently, the government through the ministry of agriculture is buying maize from farmers at the price of 3,200 shillings per 90-kg bag.

Already the government has confirmed that a total of one million bags of maize have been bought with plans to buy at least two million bags by the end of December being in motion.

Kenya depends mostly on agriculture but in the recent years, drought seems to have disrupted the sector with the government being on the receiving end for misplaced priorities.

The government is said to have lost billions of shillings in an ambitious program of producing its own maize in Gulana Gulalu irrigation scheme having only harvested a handful of bags after spending so much of taxpayers money. The government is yet to release a formal statement on the project.