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Sound agriculture policies can save Kenyans the agony of begging
Related to country: Kenya

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Publication Date: 6/16/2008

The reports that over 100,000 people in Baringo District are now depending on wild fruits and tubers for their survival, due to famine, are particularly worrying.

The situation is also bad in other arid and semi-arid districts of Samburu, Turkana, Marakwet and West Pokot, whose residents depend on cattle due to harsh climatic conditions not favourable for farming.

People in these areas normally receive little rainfall between March and April, but this year, the region has experienced a prolonged drought.

As a matter of fact, however, failure by the Government to come up with a practical and workable rational food policy in Asals is to blame for the frequent food shortages.

The truth of the matter is that Kenya has many experts in agriculture, but these experts have failed to come up with long-term solutions to food shortages.

It is because of this that when serious famine strikes, the Government runs to the international community for support.

But when will we utilise the resources we have to contain the situation so that the international community can also to run to us for help?

Our country has diverse climatic conditions. Some areas receive plenty of rainfall almost all the year round, while other areas get little or no rainfall.

A country like Egypt has climatic conditions that are worse than ours, and yet it has turned many of its areas into giant food producers through investment in irrigation.

Irrigation schemes have proved that they can transform the lives of many Kenyans in areas such as Sigor Wei Wei scheme in West Pokot District.

Having been started in 1987, following an agreement between the Kenya Government and Italian development cooperation, the project has made a significant contribution to employment and income generation in the area.

The project benefits are also being shared with the pastoral communities bordering the area, who have access to crop residue that caters for their livestock.

The lives of the Pokots in the project area have been transformed with crop harvest of twice a year.

A thriving and rapidly expanding market has developed at Sigor. Before the start of the project, the population of the area was roughly 40,000, but now the population stands at 200,000.

For the sustainability of the project, the community has also played a key role in the conservation of the environment and especially the water catchment areas.

This project has demonstrated to the Government that more investments need to be directed to irrigated agriculture.

This is the only way to eradicate the frequent food shortages.

Replication of the Sigor project has been carried out by Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) in the Arror Irrigation Scheme in Marakwet District.

Many people in Turkana and other areas have depended on relief food for a long time since there have been no meaningful harvests due to the poor rainfall in the area.

Surely, Kenya’s population of 34 million people is still small. We can afford to do without relief if the right policies are formulated and implemented.

Kenyans in the Asal areas need irrigation schemes, if the serious food shortage that has continued to hit them has to be solved once and for all.

June 16, 2008 | 5:35 AM Comments  3 comments

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Nekesa Terri
June 16, 2008 | 6:52 AM
Nice article
Is these your article, I am interested in you writing something for my website and also joining in the discussion forum can you sign up? Today..now

http://te-cs.com/forums/people.php

My site is http://www.te-cs.com its about agriculture so you can actually send in your articles I will upload them!


Nice day...
Seanamo Sean Amos
June 17, 2008 | 2:37 AM

Hey Terri.....I just saw your reply and i will sign up soonest...kindest regards.
faywang Wambui
June 17, 2008 | 9:43 AM

yeah its true...we can sustain ourselves and people do not have to suffer hunger but we need commiment, planning and empowerment of citizens to achieve all this
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