A debate meant to give Kenyans an opportunity to assess the suitability of presidential candidates ended in an anti-climax when only four of the eight contenders turned up, with President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Jubilee Party candidate, the notable absentee.

However, the nearly 10 million Kenyans who tuned in for the debates got some pointers from the four candidates led by opposition National Super Alliance flagbearer Raila Odinga on the problems facing the nation and how they would tackle them.

The EastAfrican’s Peter Munaita looks at the 10 issues that have dominated the election campaign but fears that they may not be the deciding factor on who wins on August 8.

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1. COST OF LIVING: Why are prices of unga (maize flour) and sugar out of reach?

The cost of living was shaping up to be a potential election decider.

2. FOOD SECURITY: Where will the next meal come from?

Closely related to the cost of living is food security. Perhaps with drought acting as a mitigation, the matter has not featured as strongly as it should in election discourse.

Pollsters do not also have a specific entry on it with the exception of Ipsos where six per cent of respondents unhappy with the leadership gave their reason as hunger/drought and another two per cent said they disapproved of the president’s performance because of agriculture.

The high prices of basic commodities raise fundamental questions on the management of agriculture and incentives given to farmers. Key of the concerns is that the sector remains rain-dependent, incentives such as fertiliser subsidies and non-taxation of inputs do not seem to yield the desired impact; and that the devolution of agriculture may blur the vision on food security.

All parties promise application of technology in agriculture (irrigation, direct payment of subsidies to farmers rather than middlemen, better storage), broadening of the national food basket from maize and creation of an integrated chain around livestock.

Under irrigation, Jubilee highlights its Galana Kulalu irrigation scheme, multipurpose dams across the country and further fertiliser subsidies for future food security.

The opposition has disputed the impact of these on food security saying a scheme like the fertiliser subsidy would be more effective if it was distributed directly to farmers through mobile phone vouchers. These would be redeemed at retail outlets, thereby removing distortions of a dual pricing system that only benefits large farmers and National Cereals and Produce Board officials.

While the opposition pitches the same solutions in different ways, it goes a step further by focusing on value addition and market access in the fruit, dairy and meat sectors in a bid to address post-harvest wastage.

Diversifying the national grain reserve and protecting it from unscrupulous merchants features across the manifestos. None, however, has been bold enough to address the vexing question of land fragmentation and excision of fertile agriculture land for real estate despite the constitution allowing Parliament to prescribe the minimum land holding for various land uses.

Also palpable is the silence on climate change the main cause of frequent erratic weather patterns that are behind the falling yield on Kenya farms.