Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has said the government attaches great importance to food security and has put in place measures to ensure its stability.

Mr. Musyoka said although food security has a direct bearing on the social and economic stability of the country it continued to pose a big challenge to the country due to several factors such as changing climatic patterns, inappropriate production processes, after-harvest storage and marketing.

The Vice President was speaking in Nairobi, when he officially launched the 2^nd edition of the Kenya Maize Handbook.

The handbook authored by Agriculture Corporate Development International and Volunteers Overseas Corporate Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) and managed by Kenya Maize Development Programme (KMDP) through a funding from USAID who also published and distributes it.

KMDP is a US government investment in Kenya’s agriculture which emphasizes participation, learning to improve the productivity and marketing efficiencies of Kenya’s small-holder farmers.

Mr. Musyoka commended those behind the handbook, saying it addresses most of the challenges that face the staple cereal.

He said the government will continue to work closely with all stakeholders in the sector towards achieving food security, particularly those in the staple foods area.

“Maize is the staple food crop for 96 per cent Kenya’s 40million-plus people with an annual demand of 37 million bags. The government will therefore work with all the stakeholders in the agricultural sector to ensure that Kenya becomes food secure,” Mr. Musyoka said.

The Vice President noted that programmes such as the USAID sponsored KMDP are complementing the government’s efforts in ensuring that proper extension information is available to farmers and other stakeholders.

Mr. Musyoka said the short term measures are being handled by both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agriculture Sector Coordinating Unit (ASCU) which was set up inline with the strategy for revitalizing agriculture and vision 2030, to develop umbrella legislation for the sector.

The Vice President thanked the US government for assisting in food security not only in Kenya but all over the world.

Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Sally Kosgei said that maize is the staple food to Kenyans and urged them to grow and store it properly in order to avoid hunger.

The Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy in Kenya, Mr. Lee Brudvig assured that the US government and its agencies will continue to assist Kenyans in food security by developing agriculture.

He noted that Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is researching on the aflotoxin disease in Kenya, saying researchers in the US have discovered a way of controlling it.

The launch was attended by Country Director ACDI/VOCA Kenya, Mr. Steve Collins, the CEO Kencall Mr. Nicholas Nesbit, representatives of Kenya Seed Company Ltd, KARI, Eastern Africa Grain Council, Massey Fergusion and Farmers among other stakeholders.