Kenyans may have to dig deeper into their pockets following an outbreak of Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease which has swept some parts of the country. Farmers in Rift Valley province have already lost 21,000 hectares of crop to the infection. “From my own personal experience, reduced production leads to an increase in pricing,” said Anthony Muriithi, an economist from the Ministry of Agriculture. He said that farmers could control the outbreak by removing infected crops from the field.

The Ministry reported a bumper harvest earlier this month that led to a 3.7% decrease in prices. A bag of Soko Maize Meal currently costs between KES118 and KES120. These prices may change depending on how badly the crops are affected. . The Ministry had assured the public that there was no cause for alarm, when the disease first surfaced in May. The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) has since encouraged farmers to burn their crops to stop the infection, which has spread from the South Rift granaries to other parts of the province. According to KARI MD Ephraim Mukisira, the grain is not fit for human or animal consumption. He urged farmers to practice crop rotation to avoid further outbreaks in the future.