KARA AUGUST 2011 ISSUE.indd

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FAMINE The gods are not to blame for the raging famine in Kenya As we switch on our TVs and turn newspaper pages, we are daily bombarded with gory photographs of needy and near dying Kenyans due to the ongoing drought-related famine challenge that has now led to Kenya’s shame among family of nations. From the contentious view of Government Spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua on plain denial of any death from starvation, elite GMO food safety debate to the highly successful ‘Kenyans for Kenya’ campaign, Government is struggling to put a brave face in the unfolding famine crisis. The blame game is in high gear and fingerpointing goes on unabated. But as Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe would bluntly ask the government, where did the rain begin beating us? The food security situation has deteriorated unabatedly for most households in all the arid and semi arid lands (ASAL). And pastures have dried up. This situation has been intensified by the failure of the <strong>2011</strong> rains and the same exacerbated by the unfavourable October – December 2010 rains which severely limited the replenishing of water sources and regeneration of pasture. According to a recent United Nations report, <strong>2011</strong> has been the driest year since 1995 and has reported the lowest rainfall in 60 years. The Kenya Food Security Steering Committee estimates that approximately 3.5 million people are affected by drought and 2.4 million are food insecure. Acute malnutrition has reached 37 per cent in some parts of north east Kenya, which is double the 15 per cent emergency threshold. While the situation is severely felt in north and eastern Kenya namely Marsabit, Wajir, Moyale, Isiolo, Garissa and Turkana, other areas reporting serious food defi cit include Kitui, Makueni, Mwingi, Tharaka, Mbere, Malindi, Kwale, Kilifi and Taita Taveta. As a result, the number of households requiring water sourced from trucks has increased substantially in Marsabit, Mandera and Turkana, among others. Water related confl icts have been reported in Baringo, West Pokot, Tana River, Wajir and Isiolo, among others. The value of livestock, which is the main livelihood for many households in the worst affected areas, has depreciated and the livestock markets have collapsed. It is on record that the Meteorological Department did sound the alarm bell much earlier. Then, the department observed that the rains this year were going to be less than average in some places and that there was going to be food insecurity. It further advised that the situation needed to be addressed and planned for before the situation got out of hand. Unfortunately, they were laughed out of town. Therein lays the source of our tribulations: The tendency to ignore scientifi c data and to plan in spite of it. Coupled with this is the tendency to deny again in spite of the facts. 14.
FAMINE PHOTO: Courtesy Google.com The government spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua, a highly educated man with several degrees to boot, had the temerity to deny the obvious on national TV at the cost of taxpayers. Government offi cials, including the Minister for special programme Esther Murugi, insist that there is enough food. Indeed ours is a country of contradictions. It is said that while in some parts of Kenya food is rotting in others women, children and the aged are literally staring at death due to starvation. Why is it impossible for the Government to map out the areas with food and those without and, as Governments should, put in place mechanisms that enable redistribution of food? Again, the Government has been long on policy but short on implementation. Year in year out there are policy statements about how the country should migrate from rainfed agriculture to irrigation. The government went further and crafted a Ministry of Water and Irrigation. So where is the food and or who is not doing his job? The failure of government to plan and focus on long term projects has exacerbated the situation. A few years ago, Malawi was in the same situation as is Kenya today. However with proper planning and long term focus Malawi is an exporter of food. From the foregoing, there is need to put in place a programme for extension services to provide the knowledge and skills that farmers need to produce optimally. According to the Egerton University based Tegemeo Institute, Kenya has about 3 million small scale farmers who account for 75 per cent of the total maize crop. In addition, the national average maize yields per hectare are estimated at 20 bags of 90 kilogramme. These yields are about one twentieth of those attained internationally in countries such as Argentina. Besides, the land policy that allows subdivision of land to untenable sizes is also a contributory factor. There should be a minimum landholding in agricultural areas. Kenyan farmers are better advised to grow traditional crops such as cassava, potatoes and millet that are drought resistant and easier to store. Abundant worldwide evidence has shown that the incentives and ability of farmers to make investments in productivity-enhancing inputs and production methods depends on reducing the transaction costs and risks of exchange across inputs, credit, and output markets. Throughout the world, the major share of staple food costs to the consumer is typically accounted for by marketing costs. In most countries in eastern and southern Africa, maize marketing costs account for about 40% to 60% of the total retail price of maize meal paid by consumers.The reduction of these costs represents a major opportunity to improve farm production incentives and simultaneously make food more affordable to low-income consumers. www.cofek.co.ke 15.
Page 1: 17TH EDITION neighbourhood AUGUST 2
Page 4: COVER STORY From Page 3 Land reform
Page 7 and 8: PERSPECTIVE organisations. Some of
Page 9 and 10: OUR PEOPLE HILLVIEW RESIDENTS ASSOC
Page 11 and 12: . Bronze (Kshs350,000) with varied
Page 13: CONSTITUTION And with an extension,
Page 17 and 18: SOUTH XXXXXXXX SUDAN PROFILE PHOTO:
Page 19 and 20: transport The challenges of Thika s
Page 21 and 22: through MESSAGE kara lens Decentral
Page 24: BECAUSE THEY ARE FRAGILE We protect

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