Members of Parliament led by Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter have accused Deputy President William Ruto of having a thing or two to do with the maize shortage that has engulfed the country in the past few years.
Keter and his co-horts claim that Ruto has a well calculated plan that has even included discouraging people from the Rift Valley from engaging in Maize farming and instead adopt avocado and macadamia farming, while he has a plan of importing Maize from Congo! Probably deal sealed when Ruto visited Congo recently?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eQux-ko-X4
This said and done, what then is the real situation of the Congo where the maize is said to come from?
According to a report by reliefweb earlier this year, there has also been a problem in the country which has affected yields.
KEY MESSAGES
- Between October and November 2017, a series of market assessments were conducted across Southern Africa by FEWS NET, in collaboration with key national and international partners. The findings from the assessment in eastern DRC are key inputs to this report.
- In 2016, maize production in eastern DRC fell while cassava production increased. Conflict related reduction in area planted as well as destruction from the Fall Army Worm (FAW) infestation are expected to contribute towards below average 2017 crop (Figure 1). Both factors will likely remain relevant through the early part of 2018 and consequently result in weak expectations for 2018 harvests.
- Market supply for both local and imported maize and cassava will continue to be impacted by a multitude of factors including the presence of plant diseases, weather related shocks, conflict and population displacements. For maize, in particular, export policiesin neighboring countries will continue to influence the extent to which imported supplies are able to cover local production deficits.
- Prices for both maize and cassava remain high in most major markets across eastern DRC (Figure 2). The exception is maize prices in southeastern DRC provinces such as Haut Katanga, that have seen maize grain and maize flour prices drop in recent months owing to surplus flows from Zambia. Prices are expected to follow seasonal trends in the coming months, and will depend on the performance of upcoming harvests during the first half of 2018.
Defendants of the Deputy President have now come out to defend him from what they have termed as mere political witch-hunt.According to Ruto’s allies led by Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali, the National Cereals and Produce Board and Ministry of Agriculture already provided a list of businesspersons who sold maize and farmers who were claiming abnormal payment but Ruto’s name was not on that list.