What Covid-19 teaches us about the importance of food self-sufficiency in Kenya
Recently, the World Food Program released its 2020 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC). The latest report outlines the state of acute hunger across the globe, along with an analysis of some of the possible root causes of the food crisis.
Health crisis within a food crisis
In Kenya, 26% of all children under five are reported to be acutely stunted, while 5% are acutely malnourished. The global report further describes 25% of women between ages 15 to 49 years as anaemic.
The outbreak of Covid-19 has generated numerous articles emphasizing the need to prevent a food crisis amidst the health crisis. However, Kenya has been dealing with a food crisis for years. The poor nutritional status of the bulk of our population has not only exposed our health vulnerability as individuals, but also as an entire health system. The risk of collapse is rising.
So why are we so vulnerable? In my view, there are at least two major “cracks” in our national food system that need urgent attention.
A focus on cheap imports at the expense of local produce
Despite its food production potential, and innovative agrifood sector, Kenya is a net importer of food. For years, Kenya has imported onions, beans and pineapples from Tanzania. Eggs, chicken and tomatoes are mostly sourced from Uganda. Similarly, fish and garlic have, for the longest time, been sourced from China.
Disruptions in our food system due to Covid-19 have further exposed our reliance on imports, at the expense of our local produce. The cost of production in Kenya is extremely high, that fish sourced 7,889 km away (China), is still cheaper than locally produced fish. This stems from high taxation on imported inputs such as agrochemicals, feeds and fertilisers. With a halt to food imports amidst Covid-19, Kenyans’ preference for locally-produced fish is on the rise. This provides an avenue for the government to restore the falling glory of local aquaculture.
At the same time, Kenya has failed to implement strategies to protect our farmers from indiscriminate imports. In an ideal situation, imports should be a last resort, to supplement demand in case of local deficits. However, Kenya’s high dependence on imports has placed Kenyans at risk due to uncertainties in global food markets.
Low self-sufficiency at household and national level
In tandem with discouraging imports of locally-produced commodities, Kenya needs to promote self-sufficiency at the household level. While it is unrealistic to expect all households to become fully self-sufficient, it is quite possible to meet families’ needs for specific food groups. For instance, an urban household in Eldoret might not be able to produce rice, but they can produce kales in vertical gardens. Not only does this satisfy a food need, but may be an income source to be able to purchase rice.
In retrospect, the Covid-19 crisis shows us that food supply is in fact a matter of national security. We ought to treat our food system with the seriousness it deserves by ensuring that imports are, at best, only a supplement to our self-produced foods and agrifood products. Only then can we truly as one through strengthen our local agricultural capacity and resilience to health-food crises such as Covid-19.
Written by Sharon J Cheboi
This article is part of Covid-19 Food/Future, an initiative under TMG ThinkTank for Sustainability’s SEWOH Lab project (https://www.tmg-thinktank.com/sewoh-lab). It aims at providing a unique and direct insight into the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on national and local food systems. Also follow @CovidFoodFuture, our Video Diaries From Nairobi, and @TMG_think on Twitter. Funding for this initiative is provided by BMZ, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
