A policymakers' guide to crop diversification

Summary (En)

A key challenge facing Kenya is to ensure the food and nutrition security of present and future generations while protecting the country's natural resource base. Kenya's population currently stands at about 40 million and is projected to reach 60 million by the year 2030. Kenya remains a food-deficit country even in bumper harvest years. Discussions of food security in Kenya usually revolve around maize, since the country's food security is overwhelmingly dependent on it, despite a continued structural deficit in maize production. Overall, vulnerability to food insecurity in the country is exacerbated by the absence of substantive diversification in food production and consumption. Annual per capita consumption of maize in Kenya is estimated at 98 kg. That translates into an equivalent overall demand of about 40 million bags every year. Domestic maize production is around 25 million bags, reaching 40 million in a good year. Food prices have generally been on the increase in Kenya in the recent past, owing to a combination of factors, including droughts, global price trends and government policy. The recent high prices of food and fuel are also challenging some of Kenya's macroeconomic fundamentals because they have resulted in higher inflation (estimated at more than 10 percent over the last few years) and contributed to a sharp decline in the foreign exchange rate. Diversifying the country's food base is therefore an important strategy for reducing Kenya's vulnerability to international food price shocks. Additionally, since average arable land per household is shrinking rapidly owing to a combination of rapid population growth and continued urban sprawl, crops that can produce more food, more nutrients and more cash per unit area and time are gaining increasing importance in the quest for solutions to Kenya's perennial food security problems