|
|
Kenya: Thousands Face Famine At Coast
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Nation (Nairobi)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
Jonathan Manyindo And Amina Kibiringe
Nairobi
Over 60,000 people face starvation at the Coast after erratic rains in the last two seasons.
According to an assessment report by the Special Programmes Ministry, the failure of short rains between October and December last year caused a crop failure.
As a result, the Ministry of Agriculture, other Government departments and NGOs have quickly to address the looming disaster by building water pans and providing relief supplies.
Coast provincial director of agriculture Phoebe Odhiambo said the worst-hit areas were Bamba and Ganze in Kilifi District and some parts of Kinango District.
Ms Odhiambo, who was speaking to the Nation on phone from Mwapa in Kilifi, said she could not immediately establish the exact number of those affected in the province.
But according to an assessment report of the Ministry of Special Programmes, more than 60,000 people are faced with starvation in Taita-Taveta district alone.
And Ms Odhiambo said the Ministry of Agriculture had built dams in various areas and urged farmers to invest in water harvesting equipment to provide them with water for irrigation.
"We are now urging farmers in the region to plant drought- resistant crops to avoid suffering in case the rains fail," she said.
"Kinango in Kinango district was also affected but most farmers in the area keep livestock which they can sell to substitute with food in the markets," she said.
Although the Government does not have any silos in the region, Ms Odhiambo said the World Food Programme and ActionAid were already distributing some relief food.
"We are also giving out seeds to farmers in preparation for the next planting season," she said.
And in Taita Taveta case, a food security assessment report conducted last month showed that 60,000 people in the two districts will be put on a food for work programme set to commence next month.
Food shortage
The district drought management officer, Mr Mustafa Parkolwa, said the lowlands that received insignificant amounts of rainfall experienced up to 80 per cent crop failure precipitating food shortages in the districts.
Another contributing factor, Mr Parkolwa said, was poor grain storage methods that make it possible for pests to destroy harvests.
"It is unfortunate that some farmers apply the grain preservative the wrong way sometimes after the harvest is attacked by the borer," he said.
Mr Parkolwa said other areas adversely affected by the famine include Maktau, Mwachabo and Maandakini in Mwatate and Taveta districts. Others include Tausa division and parts of Voi.
He said the food-for-work programme will also exempt special groups, including the elderly, widows and orphans who will be supplied with free relief food.
"We are not out to give free food because that is encouraging laxity. That is why it is only a small class of those who cannot work are considered," he said.
Those in the programme are expected to do some communal work in their areas like de-silting canals in irrigation schemes and repairing access roads among others.
The assessment report comes at the time when Kishushe residents in Wundanyi division raised the alarm over destruction of their crops by baboons and elephants.
Two weeks ago, Kishushe chief Joseph Meso said farmers were forced to mount a 24-hour guard to protect crops against invasion by the animals.
More than 3,000 families are also faced with starvation in the area after the animals destroyed their farms.
|
In 2005, various parts of the country were hard-hit by famine. Hundreds of thousands of people subsisted on relief supplies.
And in January and February, millions of bags of maize were burnt during the violence that erupted after the disputed presidential elections.
Additional reporting by KNA
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
