The Drought and Food Crisis in the Horn of Africa: Impacts and Proposed Policy Responses for Kenya

This policy document notices that, as the world begins to feel the effects of climate change, the frequency of droughts is increasing in the Horn of Africa. Considering the two main channels through which the drought and food crisis affects welfare in Kenya, the document identifies four broad policy changes that can reduce Kenya’s future vulnerability to such shocks: (i) investment in people in the arid and semiarid lands; (ii) reform of Kenya’s maize policy; (iii) review of the East African Community grain trade policy; and (iv) formulation of a unified social protection system.