Landmændene i Kenya kan tjene mere på at dyrke kaffe til eksport end fødevareafgrøder som f.eks hvede.
Det har skabt frygt for, at Kenya bliver nødt til at øge importen af fødevarer og dermed bliver yderligere afhængig af udlandet.
ELDORET, 23 November 2011 (IRIN): The switch by many farmers in Kenya’s Rift Valley province from staple cereals (basale fødevarer) to more profitable coffee is likely to increase the country’s dependence on grain imports and possibly affect food security, agricultural experts have warned.
– It is unsafe to use our land for crops with the hopes of being fed by other countries, said James Nyoro, managing director for Africa of the Rockefeller Foundation, which works to promote the wellbeing of humanity around the world.
– What if these countries do not harvest excess for us? he said.
Kenya will have to import 2,3 million tonnes of cereal (kornprodukter) during the 2011-2012 marketing year to meet demand, a year-on-year increase of 37 percent, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, which estimated domestic harvests of maize – a staple for 90 percent of Kenyans – at 2,5 million tonnes, down 18 percent because of poor weather.
This import dependency and the threat posed by increased coffee growing could be mitigated (lindret/nedsat) with the use of improved inputs by cereal growers, Nyoro said.
Another food security specialist recommended improving storage conditions of grain after it is harvested, when some 30 percent of production is traditionally lost.
In the meantime, any additional costs accrued by (som skyldes) importing will be passed on to consumers.
– There is inflation already, joblessness and low purchasing power for many Kenyans; if food prices go higher than they have in the recent past then the number of people accessing even two meals a day will be much lower, he said.
