Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:35:23 +0300 [08:35:23 AM CST]
From: JANE OLOO
Subject: Re: Food insecurity – what should we do?
Mr K’Onyiego,
We are not talking about ancient practices a la Shaddouf etc. Please talk to the attache’ at the Egyptian embassy here in Kenya. We are talking about modern commercial irrigated farming that Egypt is now practising.They had transfer of technology from Israel that is why they are exporting wheat barley, rice you name it.
Jane
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:41:40 -0800 [07:41:40 AM CST]
From: Jairus K’Onyiego
Subject: Re: Food insecurity – what should we do?
Miss Jane Oloo,
Are you sure about the facts you have put forward here? Which came first Egypt or the nation of Israel? Egyptians has adequately fed their population for thousands of years before the state of Israel came into existence. who then was working on their agriculture in those early years, even after the first EXODUS of all the slaves.
It seems you are mixing something here.
Concerned
— On Fri, 1/16/09, JANE OLOO wrote:
From: JANE OLOO
Subject: Re: Food insecurity – what should we do?
Date: Friday, January 16, 2009, 1:40 AM
Maurice Barasa,
I agree with you that we need to change our land policies. We have to limit individual. shareholding parcel sizes. It is going to be very unpopular and will cause upheaval but it is the only way.
I don’t see any politician attempting it because Kenyans love to own land even when it is not economically viable.
We also need to ask our government to enter into technology transfer agreements in every province with other countries that have been able to feed their people through improved agriculture technology such as Israel, India etc.We know that it is Israeli Technology that brought about the revolution in food production in Egypt, when the Egyptian government entered into an agreement with Israel.
Let’s not sit on our hands, those who are in the Agricultural policy arena should talk to government and tell them that we cannot be talking about Vision 2030, when our ability to feed ourselves is highly in doubt.
Jane
—
JANE OLOO
On 1/15/09, Maurice Baraza wrote:
As we think of decongesting Nairobi to encourage growth of other towns.
What do you think of the land policies?
Aren’t we facing more risk of food insecurity as the population grows?
With land ownership in the highly agric productive areas is very small and thus the agric production is dimisinishing with time. Wouldnt it be proper if land laws are made such that for new land ownership in the highly agricultural productive areas should not be less than 5 acres?
Then the government should try to support irrigation in areas like the Tana river delta instead of leasing the land to Qatar?
Israel was a very dry place but they are the largest exporters of fruits in the world today yet even our dry lands recieve much better rain than what they recieve. I know we’ll say that we dont have resources, we have a lot but its just mismanaged and enjoyed by a few.
MBW