This archive report was first published on 3 July 2019.
Published on July 3, 2019, a report by the National Drought Management Authority confirmed that the number of Kenyans requiring food assistance would hit two million, up from 1.6 million in May.
Kenya's arid and semi-arid regions have been ravaged by drought, with pastoralists suffering heavy losses from livestock deaths. The alternating adverse cycles have left the people in a state of helplessness and hopelessness.
Out of the 47 counties, Turkana, Marsabit, Baringo (East Pokot), Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, and Isiolo will need quick interventions to prevent deaths. The country can no longer rely on rain-fed agriculture, and attempts at irrigation farming have been disappointing.
The collapse of the Galana/Kulalu irrigation scheme, despite billions sunk into it, is a symbol of wanton wastefulness. Some of the schemes have become conduits for siphoning public funds.
Unless more innovative and manageable projects are initiated, hunger will continue to dog the country. Perhaps the time has come to shun grandiose projects and promote small community and private irrigation schemes countrywide, coupled with a programme to build dams to harvest rainwater for irrigation.
