A farmer at Cheplaskei in Uasin Gishu County harvesting maize.[Photo/nation.co.ke] Kenya may next year be forced to import an additional two million bags of maize in order to raise the amount of maize at Strategic Food Reserve (SFR) to four million bags as required amid fear of the looming shortage. According to Johnson Irungu, Director of Crops in the Ministry of Agriculture, the government will be compelled to import at least two million bags of maize in the condition that it does not get enough stock from the farmers in the ongoing purchasing.“If we do not get enough stocks, we will import two million bags meant for SFR to ensure we have enough stocks in the country that will play an important role in times of a shortage,” Dr. Irungu said. Kenya has for the past couple of years been unable to raise enough maize produce locally to replenish the SFR, which is required to have at least three million bags of maize at any given time, an equivalence of one-month consumption.Earlier, the ministry of agriculture had projected a drop in this year's maize produce following an infestation of Armyworms that destroyed thousands of acres of maize farms.The country had also witnessed an acute shortage of maize at the beginning of the year leading to skyrocketing of flour prices that forced the government to set aside Sh 6 billion for maize subsidy programme that was introduced on May. The announcement comes just days after Kenya inked a government to government deal with Mexico allowing Kenya to directly access maize from Mexico in the case of shortage.   

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