KENYA (23 September)
Harvesting of the 2003 long-rains season maize is well under way in most parts of the country. At the beginning September, over 70 percent of the crop was reported to have been harvested in Eastern, Central, Western and Nyanza Provinces. Rainfall that continued into August, particularly in major production areas, made up for the season’s late start. The revised forecast by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development of this year’s “long rains” maize crop still stands at 2 million tonnes, similar to the average of the previous five years.
The steady rise in maize prices since March 2003 reversed during August in most major markets of the country. In Western, Nyanza and parts of North Rift Provinces, prices have declined by 10–12 percent, remained stable in Mombasa and increased marginally in Nairobi. The price decline has been attributed partly to continued supplies from the early harvesting districts and imports. The National Cereals and Produce Board has also helped stabilize high prices by releasing about one million bags of maize from the strategic grain reserve onto the market. However, despite the relative decline, prices remain significantly above the long-term-average.
In most pastoral areas, better livestock conditions were reported; these were due to generally favourable long rains coupled with extended rains in localized areas. Exceptions were the lake shore areas of Turkana, northern Garissa and the northwestern settled areas of Wajir Districts. Livestock prices have also followed the normal seasonal trend by declining steadily as the supply of market animals increases. However, an unusual increase in livestock prices was observed in several markets in Turkana, Moyale, Baringo and in Tana River, close to the Tana Delta, mainly because pastoralists were withholding livestock in order to rebuild herds after significant herd losses after several successive poor seasons.