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Gangs Out to Reverse Recent
Gains
The Nation (Nairobi)
EDITORIAL
10 February 2008
Nairobi
Throughout the long and tortuous misrule by the Moi regime, it is
the agriculture sector that kept Kenya afloat.
Cereals, coffee, tea, dairy, horticulture and beef farmers toiled
against great odds to keep the country alive. This is a fact that
President Kibaki himself admitted in his first days in office. The
Bretton Woods institutions acknowledged as much.
Arguably, the point of departure between the Kenyan and Zimbabwean
situations is a functional agricultural sector in the former, as
opposed to mercilessly hampered productive capacity in the latter.
THOUGH BELATEDLY, ZIMBABWE IS reported to be preparing to
partially reverse the ill-advised seizure of large-scale farms - a
curious attempt at redistributing productive resources as opposed
to income.
Unfortunately, the recent political violence threatens to put
Kenya in a not-so-dissimilar situation. According to Mr James
Mutonyi, the country director of Agricultural Market Development
Trust (AGMARK), both farmers and agro-dealers have been severely
incapacitated. Kenya is staring severe food shortages in the face,
a scenario international agencies have confirmed.
Road and railway transport in the Rift Valley, which produces the
bulk of the grain, has been blocked by criminals taking advantage
of the current political crisis. The government seems incapable or
unwilling to use its muscle to get rid of these saboteurs. Worse
still, grain has been set ablaze in granaries in the area and
Kisumu has gone one up in pillaging the National Cereals & Produce
Board (NCPB) silos in the stricken city.
Farmers who kept the country fed at a low cost have fled, have
been displaced or cut off from the markets. As the planting season
starts, few can access the seeds or the markets. In a nutshell,
there is a major crisis that is beckoning unless corrective
measures are taken swiftly.
It goes without saying that a political solution is prerequisite
to resolving the impending crisis.
We reiterate that the government should not spare any expense in
reclaiming transport arteries from opportunistic criminals.
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