The cost and shortage of ugali flour has captured the
attention of Kenyans - and rightly so - in recent days. Now, the question: have
we been discussing the real issues? No, because many Kenyans are simply
unaware of them - this includes our politicians and journalists. (I will not discuss hoarding, much as we know
it is an issue).
The real issues can be discussed under the following
headings:
(i) The nutrition question.
(ii) The milling
technology question.
(iii) The quantity
question.
The Nutrition Question
There are three types of ugali flour:
(a) Whole maize meal.
(b) Partially
de-germed maize meal.
(c) Fully de-germed
maize meal (i.e. super sifted meal).
From the nutrition point of view, wholemeal is best: medical
people recommend it over the others. Aas many of you are aware, most Kenyans
and especially, the educated (read brainwashed - by what Bob Marley called the
brainwash education) and urbanites prefer the full de-germed. Why? The flour is
white and therefore to be preferred; also, since almost all fibre has been removed,
it is easier to digest.
Yes, it is easier to digest because the fibre, as well as
the calcium, iron, niacin, riboflavin and fat - indeed almost every vital
nutrient - has been removed. Furthermore, the sifted meal lacks two vital types
of proteins, i.e. globulins and glutelins, but has zein, a poorer source of
protein. So, we have adopted extremely poor eating habits in the name of
sophistication. This matters, considering that for over 70% of us maize meal is
our staple.
The Milling Technology Question
Sifted maize meal (full de-germed), is most expensive to
produce, for it requires very expensive meals called roll mills; wholemeal, on the
other hand, is cheapest.
Since roll mills are
very expensive, only foreigners and a few very rich Kenyans can afford them.
If, however, we had adopted the habit of eating wholemeal, we would have allowed
Wanjiku to mill and sell us her maize; we might have had hundreds of small
maize mills owned by Kenyans. Since we have adopted the habit of eating sifted
maize meal, we have entrusted maize milling to foreigners who use imported and expensive technology, whereas wholemeal technology is cheap, and available
in Kenya as well as other third-world countries. Have you ever wondered why
Africa keeps getting poorer? Stop.
The Quantity Question
Suppose we produce one metric tonne of maize every year. Suppose also that we consume a metric tonne of
maize every year. If that were the case, we would always produce enough maize
meal for our nation. The equation changes when we factor in the varieties of maize
meal.
If we mill one metric tonne of maize under the wholemeal
technology, we get back flour to the tune of 98%. If we use de-germed meal
technology, around 80% of our initial input ends up on the table. Under the fully de-germed technology, we get back only
around 60%. Simply put, under the sifted maize technology that we have adopted,
we are guaranteed a 40% deficit. This
means that we have to import the 40%
we lose under this technology: after buying roll mills from foreigners, we must
hand them further cash to make up the deficit our use of their mills has
created. This is madness.
More about the fully de-germed
Under this technology, we lose about 40% of our maize harvest
because the by-products are used for animal feed and oil production. Much of
the animal feed ends up being exported to the West to feed their animals,
although some is used locally as well. Further, most Kenyans cannot afford the meat
so produced. Even more interesting: only
10% of the energy/food content of these by products is utilised by these
animals - 90% of the food content in these by-products is simply lost for good.
Conclusions
What now? Kenya needs a different policy, one that
encourages Kenyans to eat wholemeal. If you've read this carefully, the
advantages of doing so are self evident. Are policy makers even interested in such
a radical shift in policy? No, because when the big foreign millers come to
invest as foreign investors, they give the so called policy makers a share in
the plants (remember Safaricom? ); the
policy makers are accomplices. Since Wanjiku will not give shares to these
petty elites (I have nothing but contempt for the African elite), she can take her
one way ticket to hell. The moral extends to other sectors of the economy; a
wise person can see why Africa sinks further into poverty by the day, despite our
best efforts.
We need a new way of thinking. It doesn't matter whether it
is Kibaki, Raila, Kalonzo or Uhuru who leads, so long as we are blind to small,
but, very critical issues that contribute to poverty or wealth creation of any
nation. Let the real debate begin.
________________
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
Great article, and it should really be every Kenyans duty to think hard about this. Food security ought properly to be a central concern of our government's. It is not.
But we do not have to keep blaming nefarious foreign interests for everything. These mills are owned by Kenyans, and it is our national attitude and the disservice of Kenyans in civil society ( especially the media) and its commerical interests that preclude development on many of these fronts.
Consider the analogous debate on local brews, or the war on Keroche, or local garments and you see why it is a Kenyan problem, not a foreign one. Now the government is looking to break monopolies and we are enraged, we want our freedom to choose monopolies.