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Workshop on Kenya’s Recurrent Challenges in Ensuring Food Security: Short- and Long-Term Options/Strategies
Venue:Hilton Hotel, Nairobi
22 March, 2012
Food security continues to be an important national policy issue in Kenya. The country has in the
recent years faced frequent and recurrent food security challenges resulting from, among other
things, spiraling food prices, high input prices, prolonged and severe droughts, and high inflation
rates. As a result, a large section of the population, and particularly vulnerable groups such as the
pastoralists, internally displaced people, and the poor have had to grapple with inadequate access
to food, sometimes resulting into severe hunger and loss of life. This trend is likely to repeat
itself in the current year despite many initiatives and actions by various stakeholders.
The Kenya Meteorological Department has announced that some parts of the country would
experience depressed and poorly distributed rainfall, while flooding may occur in other areas
during the March-May 2012 period. This suggests potential disruption in domestic food
production and supply from the long rains season. These circumstances suggest an urgent need
for preparedness through prudent policy measures to manage food supply and access. In the light
of this, Tegemeo Institute of Egerton University organized a policy workshop to provide a forum
for discussion by stakeholders in the food sector with the aim of making recommendations on
viable strategies and policy options that could address Kenya’s recurrent challenges in ensuring
food security for all.
The discussion at the workshop focused on the food situation in the country; trends in production
and consumption of main staples and implications of various policy interventions; domestic
production costs and parity prices for main staples; co-movement in international and domestic
food prices; and use of external trade policy instruments in managing food imports in Kenya,
among others.
The workshop drew participants from a wide spectrum of stakeholders which included relevant
Government Ministries (Agriculture, Livestock Development, Finance, Special Programmes,
Water and Irrigation, office of the President, among others), Donor agencies, NGO’s, private
sector especially the millers and input suppliers, farmer organizations, maize importers and
traders, Research Institutes and Universities, Consumer organizations, National Cereals and
Produce Board (NCPB), Kenya Meteorological Department and Tegemeo, among others.
Proceedings of the Workshop on Kenya’s Recurrent Challenges in Ensuring Food Security: Short- and Long-Term Options/Strategies - PDF
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