Posted on February, 27, 2019 at 08:54 am
By Business Daily EDITORIAL
The recent fall in the cost of maize flour, currently at below Sh90 per two-kilogramme packet, comes as a relief for many Kenyans burdened by the high cost of living.
As a staple food, affordability of unga is a critical benchmark of Kenya's food security and the country should always endeavour to ensure that the commodity's price-point does not squeeze out the ordinary, low-income citizen.
It is the reason the government has intervened in the past, through subsidies, to ensure that the cost of unga is manageable. It is a good thing, though, that the prevailing prices now are driven by market forces which, ideally, should always be the case.
Yet, the flip side is that while the low prices are favourable for the consumers it is bad news for maize farmers. The drop in the cost of unga is the result of an influx of grain in the market that has subdued the buying prices.
It is the government’s responsibility to protect the interests of the producers and encourage them to keep producing, while balancing it with the eventual cost to the consumers.
Source: Business Daily