Agriculture CS Willy Bett. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
The government has assured that there is enough maize to feed the country for the next eight months.
Agriculture cabinet secretary Willy Bett on Friday stated that the country food balance sheet looks promising though only up to end of May.
But the projected output to be realised from both long and short rains will only be attainable subject to performance of the short rains which kick off this month to February next year.
“The decline in overall production was attributed to a reduction in area under maize by 5.1 per cent, late rainfall onset coupled with long dry spells mid-season and fall army invasion,” said Bett.
The CS made the revelations while releasing the current national food security report.
The new update by the CS concurs with a report released last week by Tegemeo Institute which warned that the country is staring at an acute food shortage as from April next year.
According to Tegemeo, the produce from the ongoing maize harvest is expected to stand at 29 million bags while 2.5 million bags will be realised from the short rains.