Kenya faces corn shortages as heavy rain, infestation damages crop

Kenya is facing a shortage of corn as heavy rain and an infestation of Fall Armyworm insects has damaged the country’s corn harvest, sources said Thursday.

The Armyworm infestation dates back to early 2017, but the heavy rains have heaped further pressure on a harvest that is already reeling.

According to the United Nations, as of October 9, Fall Armyworm has affected corn growing on 250,000 hectares across 27 out of Kenya’s 47 counties.

Major international pesticide companies have been heavily involved in combatting the infestation, but the Cereal Growers Association has warned of a possible serious corn shortage in the months ahead.

The country is already said to be facing a shortage of 8 million corn bags, prompting the government to consider implementing a series of measures to alleviate the shortage.

Data from the Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network shows Kenya has seen a steady stream of corn brought in, mostly from neighbouring Uganda, amounting to just over 5,000 mt since November 17.

According to Knoema.com, Kenya produced 3.5 million mt of corn in 2014 – the most recent year that data is available – on an area of 2.1 million hectares.