President To Chair National Summit On Food Security Next Week

President William Ruto is scheduled to chair a high-level National Food Security Summit in Nairobi next week, bringing together county governors, cabinet secretaries, development partners, and agricultural stakeholders. The urgent summit was convened in response to escalating warnings from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regarding food shortages in at least 12 arid and semi-arid counties. The meeting aims to formulate an immediate response plan to distribute relief, support farmers with drought-resistant seeds, and chart a long-term strategy for climate-resilient agriculture.

The situation has been exacerbated by the failure of the short rains in late 2024 and rising global prices for imported staples like wheat and rice. The government is expected to announce the release of strategic grain reserves to vulnerable regions and fast-track irrigation projects in water-rich areas to boost local production. Critics, however, argue that the summit is a reactive measure and point to systemic issues like poor post-harvest handling, reliance on rain-fed agriculture, and underfunding of early warning systems that need permanent solutions.

The summit’s outcomes will be closely monitored by millions of Kenyans facing high food prices and by international donors assessing the government’s commitment to averting a humanitarian crisis. With the next planting season a few months away, the pressure is on for the summit to deliver actionable, funded plans that move beyond rhetoric to secure the nation’s food basket in an increasingly unpredictable climate.