Trends and opportunities in the production, processing and consumption of staple food crops in Kenya
Contents:
Maize flour price is for the first time since higher than wheat flour price. For example, the price of a 2-kg packet of maize flour currently retail at Ksh on average, compared to Ksh for wheat flour on average. From the foregoing, it is evident that the country is staring at a looming maize shortage, hence famine, unless maize is imported to meet the deficit.
How should the government respond to the current food situation? Is it already late? First, the government needs to immediately forestall the current high and escalating maize prices. The government recently removed maize import duty and VAT on bread and maize flour.
While these measures are welcome, these measures may be a little too late given that it takes days to deliver the imports. Better surveillance and a faster response to warnings of a looming food shortage are needed to improve response and avoid situations of famine and starvation. A decision to import maize, when needed, must be made with good lead time. Medium term responses will have to focus on increased production; building strategic food reserves; better extension services to improve productivity through enhanced farm management.
Low investment in agriculture has been the main cause of low productivity. This has resulted in low production as well as low calorie intake. The level of calorie intake in recent years has shown a general decline from food staples though it is way above the minimum required intake. Caloric intake follows levels of production of staples in the country, increasing in output and decreasing when output declines.
Where output has been low, the deficit has been reduced through imports. The intake is however much lower than what is observed in the more developed countries. Caloric intake can be increased through increased consumption of other food staples such as plantain, rice and wheat products. Low intake could be attributed to low production in agriculture, which is a result of low budgetary allocation to the sector.
This has hampered implementation of most agricultural action plans in Kenya both at the National to the County levels. Unlike the high value crops which have high capital investment, investment in staples has been low. This has affected implementation of National and County level activities.
Adoption of productivity enhancing strategies has been hampered. Extension services do not meet the demand in the sector. The staple food is largely produced for home consumption and the nature of these markets influences the agricultural market development and the success of structured demand interventions. Therefore, efforts and interventions are required to increase production beyond the produce for home consumption. The impact of low output in the market place would imply that individuals have little or no bargaining power and the transaction costs per unit are high and thus reduced margins.
This is one of the disincentives to production. There is no one size fit all technology that can be used as a best practice for all crop products. Good cultural practices if well observed will lead to increased food production.
As Tegemeo Institute has shown, the following can also improve maize production efficiency. The use of more widespread and intensive use of modern farming technologies, fertilizers, seed, improved extension effort, well -functioning input and output markets and irrigation. A recent study by Tegemeo Institute showed that a technology package gives higher yields than when inputs are just used without expert advice. Pastoralism is the main production system practised by communities who live in range lands and dry lands which are usually arid or semi-arid.
But pastoral communities are facing increasing pressure on their land. Traditionally, pastoral communities have accessed and used land collectively, using customary laws and norms to manage the land. For example, the Maasai community in Kenya believed that land was a birth right accessible to everyone. No individual could restrict access over a section of land. In addition, elders of the community would determine grazing patterns, when to migrate, and would negotiate with neighbouring communities when they migrated to foreign land.
But a combination of factors has upset this equilibrium. Pressures stem from global trends such as demographic change, urbanisation, competing land use and misconceptions about pastoralism by policymakers. Public policy has supported the individualisation and privatisation of land tenure in these areas. The declared aim is to promote investments in land and increase land productivity. As a result communities have been forced to change because of urbanisation and competition for the use of land from activities such as mining. These pressures are similar in pastoral communities across the world.
A comparison of pastoral communities in Kenya and Peru illustrates this, even though they live in very different terrain and keep different livestock. In Kenya, pastoral communities reside in low lands characterised by high temperature and low rainfall. Cattle, sheep, goats and camels are common in Kenya, while Alpacas and llamas are common in Peru. The maintenance of collective land tenure will aid and sustain their productive systems.
The ongoing drought is expected to adversely affect the agricultural sector which accounts for about 27 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product GDP and accounts for 60 per cent of total export earnings. The sector is a major source of livelihood for majority of the rural population in the country who depend on the key staples for food sustenance.
Many Kenyans and especially the poor will continue to suffer the brunt of this situation through reduced food access. Experts have predicted the impending food shortage and advised Kenyans to brace themselves for tough times ahead as prices of key agricultural consumer goods are expected to rise. The government however has maintained there is enough food to sustain the nation even as official estimates also indicate that over 1. The situation is ecpected to deteriorate further before getting better after the March April rains.
Production for was estimated at about 30 million bags, some 7 million bags lower than This has come to pass as the short rains came one month late and lasted for only two weeks, which is not adequate for crop maturity. Shortfall in domestic maize supply in the months of May, June, and probably July that may require to be augmented by imports. The report also showed that we will therefore need between 6 and 9 million bags of imports to cover the shortfall period. Maize is a major staple consumed by many households and its limited supply is often construed to mean food deficit.
The current food insecurity problems are attributed to factors such as low productivity, frequent droughts in the country, high costs of production and high costs of inputs for which a large proportion of the population has low purchasing power due to high levels of poverty. Many Kenyans are already bearing the burden with rising food bills due to escalating food prices and this may last for several months till mid this year. Continuous monitoring of the situation will enable identification of key challenges and opportunities for increased production in future as well as areas of policy intervention.
Taking into account the lag-time in procurement processes there is need to manage potential deficits in order to help contain food prices as well as making early consideration of potential sources of such imports given the drought in the region which may trigger export bans in surplus producing countries and the limited availability of GMO free maize. Measures such as investments in irrigation and water-harvesting devices to contain weather induced pressures that have consistently dogged the economy will also go a long way in offering long term solutions to the need for consistent adequate food production in the future.
In a previous report, the Institute had advocated for irrigation development as a strategy the government can employ to improve food security. Efficient use of land, fertilizer and water under both intensive and extensive maize production under irrigation, were identified as factors that would contribute to lowering the unit cost of production and lead to increased food production.
Since the production of irrigated maize is flexible, there can be more than one crop in a year thus implying that high returns can be achieved if production is targeted at seasons when there is low supply of maize in the market. We advocate it is time that concerned stakeholders pool in efforts to ensure necessary measures are put in place to restore the agriculture sector to a viable state.
Smallholder farmers in Africa face challenges in getting reliable access to sufficient quantities of quality seed of superior varieties at the right time and at affordable prices, and this affects their agricultural productivity, incomes and resilience. In addition, poor and inadequate financing of seed businesses hamper the development of seed sector in Africa since most seed entrepreneurs still rely on own-savings to finance their businesses due to lack of collaterals.
Also, farmer-based seed systems in many African countries are poorly recognized and supported in the current seed laws, perhaps as a result of a general bias towards major market crops in the existing legal frameworks and poor participation of smallholder farmer representatives in the law development and implementation.
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These challenges must be addressed in order to transform the African seed sector and avail quality and affordable seed of superior quality of preferred varieties to smallholder farmers. Since September , the Program on Integrated Seed Sector Development in Africa ISSD Africa has engaged in action learning research and network development towards the collaborative identification and analysis of complex and potential solutions that are of strategic importance at the national level, but need to be tackled at the continental and regional level.
At a recently concluded conference in Nairobi, seed experts and key stakeholders from across Africa met to discuss the various challenges affecting smallholder seed sector development in Africa.
Key topics discussed at the conference included: While there is no systematic methods of quality assurance in the informal seed systems, external quality assurance mechanisms also function poorly and certification services are mostly centralized and publicly run. There is need therefore to build stronger internal and external mechanisms for seed quality control, and support a review of certification systems. In addition, flexible and innovative options are needed to cater for seed entrepreneurs operating in diverse systems, including value chain financing, grants, contracts and loan guarantees.
T o promote seed policies and laws that also include legal space and support for farmer-seed systems, there is need for awareness creation on the importance, roles, and needs of smallholder farmers, including stronger representations of smallholder farmers in seed law development and reviews. Novel mechanisms are needed to get information on new publicly-released and public sector-managed i. In addition, improved access to foundation seed is crucial for an effective seed value chin development.
Whereas there is increased policy interest and commitment at national level to develop a more pluralistic and integrated seed sector, the policy support and investment still favors the formal seed systems. ISSD Africa program supports the development of a market-oriented, pluralistic and vibrant seed sector development in Africa that can provide smallholder farmers with access to quality seed of superior varieties.
The program is guided by four themes: Activities have been carried out in 10 African countries: It supports more than one million smallholders and plays a critical role in food and nutrition security through milk consumption and increased household incomes. Due to these factors, in addition to the commercial orientation in the dairy industry in Kenya, the sub-sector has the potential of playing an important role in improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers hence also contributing to poverty reduction.
However, there are several challenges in the sector including low productivity and high costs of production, which may compromise the extent to which the industry can contribute to these goals. Additionally, the system of production practised may affect performance. As average per household land sizes continue to shrink, many farmers are shifting to zero-grazing system.
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The zero-grazing system is in many cases also the model of choice by development programs that are promoting dairy production in the country. But does the shift to zero-grazing system come with increased efficiency and profitability? Tegemeo Institute partnered with the Kenya Dairy Board to seek answers to these questions in a recent study undertaken in 20 counties that are important in milk production in the country.
Farmers interviewed ranged from those practising zero-grazing to those undertaking open grazing. Our study finds that zero-grazing is the most efficient production system. Despite expected differences by counties, famers practising zero-grazing have the highest milk productivity at an average of 9. Consequently, the zero-grazing system gives the highest per unit revenue on average, translating to KSh , worth of milk per cow per year.
The other systems return KSh 84, semi-zero and KSh 39, open.
Specifically, the available food consumption of millet has declined globally and particularly in Africa. In times of severe deficit the country waivers import duty to allow maize form the ROW. The promulgation of the new Constitution ushered in two types of governments, national and the county governments thus rendering the old laws redundant. Many Kenyans and especially the poor will continue to suffer the brunt of this situation through reduced food access. This pattern reflects the sharp fall in the consumption of sweet potatoes in many developing countries accompanied by a parallel marked rise in the consumption of potatoes in a number of developing countries. Also, urbanization can affect food consumption by changes in dietary behaviour. Abstract Website There has been an increase in the number of potato crisps processors in Kenya in the last few decades.
The good outlook of the zero-grazing system dulls however when costs are considered. Our study finds that costs are highest for the zero-grazing system. Without accounting for own factors of production and fixed costs, an average zero grazer spent KSh 62, per cow per year, compared to KSh 42, for semi-zero grazers and KSh 15, for open grazers. This leads to a gross margin of KSh 41, per cow per year for zero grazers, closely followed by the semi-grazing system at KSh 41,, and KSh for 23, for open grazing.
The high cost for zero grazers hence equalizes their gross margins to those of semi-zero grazers, despite zero-grazing resulting in higher milk production and revenues from milk. Accounting for full costs of milk production, including own factors of production and fixed costs, we find that profitability of the semi-zero grazing system overtakes that of the zero-grazing system. Full costs of milk production amount to KSh , per cow per year for zero grazers, KSh 71, for semi-zero grazers and KSh 29, for open grazers. The zero grazers thus return the lowest profit at KSh per cow per year, versus KSh 13, for semi-zero grazers and KSh 9, for open grazers.
1. Introduction
As population continues to increases and average land sizes shrink further, zero grazing may be the only possible production system for majority of small holders in the future. However, this study finds that profits are lowest under this system, due to two reasons. First, the efficiency observed under this system in terms of milk productivity and consequently revenue from milk is not high enough to offset the incremental costs that come with intensification. Even if productivity in some counties is higher, an average productivity of 9.
Increased productivity would increase profitability substantially. Clearly, policy measures are required to address low productivity under zero grazing. This study was designed to characterize the potato crisps processing industry in Kenya in terms of varieties used, pre-processing handling practices and constraints encountered. The potato crisps industry was surveyed between December and February using a structured questionnaire.
Using labels of a total of 24 brands of potato crisps found selling in 80 supermarkets and kiosks in Nairobi, the processors were identified, contacted, visited and interviewed. Together 23 processors were identified and these had processing plants in Nairobi and Nakuru. The information collected included size of firm, range of products, constraints in processing crisps, marketing of the product and the variety of potatoes processed. The potato crisps processing industry in Kenya is largely dominated by small scale processors who process crisps only as one of a diversity of other products.
The industry is faced with several constraints including raw potato price fluctuations, scarcity and poor quality of potatoes, lack of facilities, skills and information on raw potato storage. The industry relies heavily on one variety that is not always available for all the processors. This information is important for potato breeders and postharvest technologists to avail sufficient suitable potato cultivars for crisping.
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Trends and opportunities in the production, processing and consumption of staple food crops in Kenya. Submitted by www.farmersmarketmusic.com on Sat. 29 results In: Trends and opportunities in the production, processing and consumption of staple food crops in Kenya-Conference. Hotel intercontinental, Nairobi.
Publications Found 29 results. Trends and opportunities in the production, processing and consumption of staple foods crops in Kenya. The Kenyan potato value chain indirectly employs 2. They are, however faced with a number of challenges. Although the legal limit for ware potato bags is kg, middle men use extended bags often over kg to fleece the farmers. Due to lack of storage facilities, farmers often sell at low prices at harvest while consumers pay high prices months later due to low supply of potatoes before the next harvest.
Potato is now being considered by the Ministry of Agriculture as a possible alternative crop to maize which is having problems with incurable diseases from unknown sources. Many farmers in maize growing areas are now adopting potatoes for food and income security reasons. Majority of the households in potato growing zones and a number of urban dwellers use the tubers as important accompaniment to diverse dishes. On the other hand, potato crisps and French fries chips are important processed products that form greater parts of menus in restaurants and hotels in major urban centers with crisps assuming large share in the supermarkets, kiosks and roadside shops.