The Food Price Watch says global food prices in July 2011 remain 33 per cent higher than a year ago

The price of maize in the Horn of Africa has doubled over the last year, the World Bank has said.
In Kenya, it has increased by 89 per cent, according to the bank’s Food Price Watch report. This is the fourth highest increase in the price of maize in the world behind Uganda (122 per cent), Somalia (107 per cent) and Rwanda (104 per cent).
Overall, the Food Price Watch says global food prices in July 2011 remain 33 per cent higher than a year ago.
Globally, maize (up 84 per cent), sugar (up 62 per cent), wheat (up 55 per cent) and soybean oil (up 47 per cent) contributed most to the increase.
While the Horn of Africa emergency was triggered by droughts, especially in areas struggling with conflict and internal displacement such as Somalia, food prices that are near record high levels seen in 2008 also contributed to the situation, the report said.

The combination of drought, conflict and soaring food prices has had a deadly effect on the region’s most vulnerable children and families.
“The availability of grains in specific areas of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia is very low, and coupled with export restrictions imposed by Ethiopia and Tanzania, has contributed to price rises in the region,” it said.
Severest drought
More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of food aid. Of these, nearly 4 million are Kenyans mainly in Rift Valley, North Eastern and Eastern parts of the country.
Eastern Province leads with those facing severest drought standing at nearly 800,000, while Rift Valley has 581,848 and North Eastern 477,957.
The vulnerable populations are concentrated in the counties of Wajir, Kitui, Turkana, Makueni, Garissa, Kwale, Mandera, Marsabit, Kilifi, Samburu and Kajiado.
Also in need of help are 19,751 internally displaced persons.
The situation in the country has not been helped by the influx of refugees from Somalia flooding the Dadaab camp. It is estimated that there are 400,000 Somali refugees in the 90,000-capacity camp.
The UN has declared the drought in the Horn of Africa the worst in 60 years and the refugee situation as the worst humanitarian crisis.
Over the last three months, 29,000 children under the age of five have died in Somalia, while another 600,000 in the region are at risk.