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Withered maize in a farm in Naivasha. [Courtesy]
Kenya is staring at an impending severe food security crisis. Across key breadbasket regions in the Rift Valley and Western Kenya, the long rains either failed outright or proved dangerously erratic, which has negatively impacted primary crop yields.
Compounded by Fall Armyworm infestations in some counties, earlier official projections of a bumper harvest have dissolved into an alarming widespread crop failure. To make matters worse, the meteorological department warns of an impending, high-intensity El Niño season between October and December. Dubbed a "Super El Niño”, these predicted torrential rains threaten to trigger massive flooding, mudslides, and severe infrastructure destruction, wiping out what little remains in our fields.
Yet, at a time when our national focus should be fixed on agricultural survival, public attention is dangerously divided as political temperatures rise in anticipation of campaigns for the August 2027 General Election. As the country gets deep into an intense political campaign period, far too many citizens are likely to abandon their daily economic and farming activities just to chase quick handouts from politicians. Conveniently forgotten is the fact that fleeting political handouts cannot sustain a family when food prices surge and markets run completely dry. Citizens should not lose sight of the reality that hunger recognises no political parties, and political grandstanding will not fill empty granaries.
