There is something to be said for defining national goals, or indeed any goals at all, with some precision. As an example, let us consider Kenya’s policy options on agriculture – arguably the most important policy challenge for this country given that we are, fundamentally and demographically, a nation of poor farmers. It seemed that the debate on ‘food security’ – not just in Kenya but in other nations as well – was mostly focused on improving production of food crops. Food security, as defined by the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, grandly demands that “all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life”. On the contrary, such prosperity will often come only through growing crops that have a lucrative export market, and with the specific policy objective of putting money in the pockets of individual farmers.

Source: The Star October 22, 2020 00:56 UTC