There is a looming maize shortage in most major cities of Kenya namely Nakuru, Nairobi and Eldoret. Most maize millers have had a whole one week with no delivery of maize. Moreover, since Monday this week, the flour millers have had to turn away customers due to lack of unga and the silence that is haunting the machines.

The milling companies have been receiving maize from other East African countries whenever there is such shortages. However, the middle men suppliers decry having no produce in their stores and also no capacity of importing.

The managers of the milling companies have been milling 100-150 bags of maize daily. This are mostly consumed mostly by local households which take 1-10kgs on number 1 or number 2 according to milling preference. They have had to increase the prices by 10-15% to cater for increased maize by the few suppliers of the gold grain.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the country had a produce of 42.1million bags in 2020, down from 44.0million bags in 2019. The country’s average maize produce for the last 5yrs has been 2.6million tons.

The current shortages has been mainly attributed to past low prices that led to the farmers moving to other produce like wheat and barley. The drought that has rocked the region for the last five years has also made production difficult.

The farmers have urged the government to lower the price of the inputs which will lower the cost of production of maize hence lower prices. Maize is a staple food for most people in Kenya as it makes ugali, a very important meal in most homesteads.