Drought Watch: Gov’t Monitoring Food Stock Nationwide, As livestock Uptake Set To Begin

NAKURU,Kenya, Nov, 24 – At least 2.5 million Kenyans are at risk of starvation following the ongoing drought that has affected 33 counties.

Already, the government has kicked off the process of monitoring the current food stock nationwide in a bid to assess the country’s food security status.

As part of the mitigating solutions, the state will commence a livestock uptake programme in order to cushion affected communities particularly those in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties.

The meteorological department has already warned of harsh weather patterns in the coming days amidst concerns of the disaster becoming even worse in the country.

According to the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Ministry of Agriculture Ann Nyaga, climate change is to blame for the current situation despite the government putting in place mechanism to combat the problems.

“The government is keen to cushion farmers and pastoralists and that is why the livestock uptake programme has kicked off,” she said.

Nyaga revealed the government is advocating for the introduction of drought resistant seeds,crops, a move that is said to have farmer prepared for any eventuality in the near future.

“Experts have conducted a lot of research on drought resistant crops and it is time that the findings were put in place to address the current challenges,” she said.

The CAS was speaking during the opening ceremony of the one week Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) scientific conference.

At least 24 counties are said to have benefitted from the project which aims to increase food production in the county as well as address post-harvest losses and create market linkages.

During a meeting with the government’s strategic partners, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programmes Professor Margaret Kobia revealed that the government has so far Provided Sh1.2 Billion for purchase and distribution of food to at least 23 Arid and Semi arid Lands (ASAL) counties where 2.5 million people are said to be affected.

The ministry of Water and Sanitation has meanwhile received Sh350 million to facilitate water tracking efforts this as the Kenya Defence Forces received Sh450 million for livestock uptake,purchase and distribution of livestock feed.

The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) also received Sh 500 million  through the European Union for drought emergency response in non-food interventions.

“The National Government is in the process of providing a second round of resources for interventions between November and December 2021.Our meeting this morning has underscored the need for urgent measures to address the needs of 2.5 million people in 23 ASAL counties that require relief assistance as of November 2021,” said Kobia.

Eight counties have been designated to be in the ‘alarm’ drought phase.

These include Garissa, Isiolo, Lamu, Mandera, Marsabit, Tana River, Turkana and Wajir, where the outlook for the 2021 short rains is worrying. 

A further 12 counties are on the brink of sliding from ‘alert’ to ‘alarm’ phase. 

Forecasts show that there will generally be depressed rainfall across all the ASAL counties and a highly depressed rainfall in the North-East of Kenya between October and December 2021.

As a result, 2.5 million people in 23 counties will remain food insecure between November and December 2021 calling for urgent preemptive measures. 

“To adequately address the impending crisis, the Government has identified priority needs in key sectors amounting to Ksh7.3 billion. These will cover the costs of delivering food and safety needs, livestock, health and nutrition, agriculture, education and water for the period ending December 2021,”

Development Partners are now expected to support government efforts to mobilise resources to address the gaps in drought response and resilience building in the ASAL counties.

Kobe also revealed that the government will shif its policy from distribution of physical food to cash transfer strategies in the fight against the negative impacts of drought in the country to increase efficiency and accountability.

“I also wish to assure the country that the Government will continue streamlining its disbursements under the social protection interventions through regular cash transfers every two months. These cash transfers target 369,000 vulnerable households and 734,119 vulnerable individuals,”