Why Linturi Wants Kenyans To Eat Rice Instead Of Ugali
Linturi added that other countries have been hoarding the limited amount of maize they had in their reserves...
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Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi on Wednesday, March 22 called upon Kenyans to eat rice, potatoes and other foods as an alternative to ugali.
Appearing before the House Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, the CS admitted that the government was finding it hard to purchase maize from other countries worldwide owing to a global shortage of the food crop.
Linturi added that other countries have been hoarding the limited amount of maize they had in their reserves and that there was nowhere else to get the grain.
Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi during his vetting on October 21, 2022. /FILE
“We are trying to look for maize out there but the truth of the matter is that it is not there,” explained Linturi.
“Some of the countries we have approached do not want to share their maize with us because they are afraid of their food security. I, therefore, urge Kenyans to embrace rice, potatoes, and other food substitutes. We have already brought tonnes of rice and we are bringing more next week.”
He however promised that the prices of maize and rice will come down in the next ten days, adding that 1.4 million tonnes of maize and another 1.1 tonnes of rice are expected in the country in one week and three days in an effort to address the current food shortage.
"We have already issued permits to millers to import the said amounts of maize and rice. In the next ten days we shall have enough of the commodities to feed us in the near future,” said Linturi.
The government will also bring in a further 500,000 tonnes of yellow maize for animal feed. This is expected to plug the deficit of the product and effectively bring down the cost of unga.
The committee heard that the Ministry of Agriculture had imported 43,173 tonnes of rice and an additional 1,305 tonnes of maize and the anticipated imports of grain would bolster the country's food security in the short term.
This means the Ministry will import about 16 million 90kg bags of white maize, about 2.2 million 50kg bags of rice, and about 5.6 million 90kg bags of yellow maize.
“We have put in place adequate mechanisms to ensure the country has enough food. We expect when these commodities come into the market, prices will come down,” the CS added.
Viral Tea compared the prices of a 2kg packet of rice and a 2kg packet of ugali through one of the online supermarkets in the country.
A 2kg packet of rice, depending on the brand and type of rice, can retail between Ksh280 to as high as Ksh780 a piece. As for a 2kg packet of ugali, depending on the brand, it can retail between Ksh190 to as high as Ksh234 a piece.
Linturi had noted on Tuesday, January 3, that he would ensure that the cost of unga goes down by end of February 2023, noting that the government would start importing maize and rice, the two staple foods in Kenya to ensure that there is enough of the commodities to save Kenyans from dying of hunger during the dry season.
Speaking during a joint interview with journalists at his private Karen residence on Sunday, March 12, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua alleged a global shortage of maize that is preventing the government from importing cheap, duty-free maize into the country.
Gachagua further believed that local farmers would have contributed to the lowering of unga prices had they realised that they were hoarding maize meant to feed Kenyans.
