Kitui, a county in eastern Kenya, a village is astonished by the revelations that a family of 6 has perished after consuming the carcass of a dog which had been buried three days earlier. “Last week we ate, this week we have no food,” says another villager. A village elder who also is believed to be the rain god says, “The spirits are punishing us for our mistakes, if it doesn’t rain soon we will all die”.
Rural areas are the food baskets in Kenya, if they experience a dry spell it means that there will be a food crisis in the whole country. Mother nature has been blamed as the major cause of hunger due to drought, but critics have a different opinion, food shortages in Kenya are artificially created. Catastrophes like drought, floods and low rainfalls should not lead to hunger since Kenya produces enough food which can sustain all its citizens, and food reserves in the National Cereals and Produce Board are supposed to sustain citizens until the next rainy season.
Fingers are being pointed at the government, is it justifiable to blame them while they don’t cause rains? Well, the government is responsible for planning to manage food shortages, educate farmers on efficient agricultural methods, researching and producing hybrid seeds that can withstand harsh conditions, provide seeds and fertilizers to farmers at low prices and also preserve the farm produce. Importantly to conserve the environment, trees, as they attract rainfall.
Forest lands sold illegally by government officials to private developers lead to deforestation hence low rainfall. Food stores are been used by ministers as a milking cow since they ‘steal’ a lot of produce and sell to middle men who sell it to citizens at high prices. Produce from farmers are not bought by processing firms run by the government since they lack funds not only to manage the firms but also buy raw materials. The farmers sell their produce to middle men at a throw away price to avoid the produces rotting in their farms and stores, funny enough the middle men represent the politicians. Seeds that cannot withstand harsh climatic conditions and fertilizers are sold to farmers at higher prices, hence most farmers have no farm inputs to produce crops. Increase in food prices by the government also denies a lot of people daily meal sine they cannot afford it. Collapsing of processing farms like Kenya Meat commission and Kenya Cooperative Creameries lead to food shortages as food produced will not sustain the increasing demand with increase in population and also unprocessed produce is very perishable.
It’s a pity for a country with good climatic conditions and agriculture as the main economic activity like Kenya to depend on foreign aid from international non-governmental organizations to feed its citizens. A government that cannot feed its people is a failed on since it’s not providing a basic need therefore, no economic development can occur with empty bellies.
