Mohammed Hersi . A hotelier passionate about Tourism & Governance in Africa

While I really want KK government to succeed I am afraid not with such ” Roadside declarations” if you allow me to borrow that word from Mwai Kabaki when he was sworn in that Dec 2002.

I had to watch this clip of CS Linturi three times to confirm that we are now running away to Zambia to grow maize to feed ourselves.

I have taken time to go back to KK manifesto and to be fair to them the aspect of Agriculture was wel addressed in their manifesto.

They identified the gaps and what ails the Agriculture sector. They also appreciated the fact that our economy is hinged on farming . It was also nice to see H.E tilling his land in this rain season.

At what point did KK government decide to shift maize growing to landlocked Zambia and if I heard him clear the Tazara railway line will be used to ferry maize from promised land of Zambia to Kenya.

Waziri need to realise that while we all talk of food security other countries are shifing to food sovereignty which means you produce your own food . Producing your own food makes alot of sense both from a security point and health issues.

Saudi Arabia and UAE have now opened to grow their own wheat . They turning desert to grow their own wheat and they also produce their own milk +++. Kenya a poor country is now saying that Zambians will grow maize for us.
One day you’ll have the money but nothing to buy just look at the mess caused by Ukraine Russia war on global wheat availability and production.

You see a shift like this one is a serious one , it’s a major policy shift. You don’t share such a position on the sidelines at some tea / coffee break session.

This was NOT a KK plan to grow maize in Zambia or Siberia. We have the farmers hard working farmers who need to be supported, they must be livid watching this clip.

A good fiend who went into onion farming told me that TZ input is 3 times and in some cases 4 times cheaper than Kenya mainly due to taxes and levies in Kenya. Instead of taxing inputs why not address that to help more farmers to produce. My friend also told me about cartels who make it very hard for farmers acess the market.

Good waziri should be addressing these basics and not some story of growing maize in landlocked Zambia then take a chance with a railway line that is worse than our own Rift Valley Railway.

Your excellency William Samoei Ruto unless I am missing the point I think you need to whip your team into line and get a structured approach in solving the problems we are facing. Your manifesto which I have read page to page has addressed Agriculture issues in details with a clear road map.

Please approach Israel and even Qatar they are all ready to help us make Galana Kulalu work and work like one well oiled machine . You need to firmly sit in the drivers seat and get your cabinet and economic council to get working and make things happen .

Granted we have debts to pay , many things are not working but that is the reason why you run for office and now that you are in charge buck stops with you . A whole CS narrating on camera how 1MT  of maize is going to cost $300 then he goes ahead to say it will cost Ksh40 per kilo is one painful listening I had to do. That is too simplistic way of addressing a serious economic matter.

Well as a Kenyan I can offer my two cent advice and I truly want your government to succeed but certainly not with such a plan to outsource farming to another country.

I wonder what is going in the minds of farmers in maize growing region. I must applaud you busy tilling your land at home and not tilling some land in Zambia.

You don’t run away from your family home due to a nagging spouse , you fix the issues hence we must fix things and make it work.

Well as always I choose to remain an optimist

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa