Relief food to be distributed to famine-stricken families in West Pokot
The items were dispatched by President William Ruto recently to target 3.5 million Kenyans affected by drought.
The government is to roll out a relief food distribution programme for hunger-stricken families in West Pokot County next week.
The food was received from the national government to cushion households from the biting effects of drought now affecting 23 counties.
The food items include 1,200 sacks of rice, 2,160 sacks of beans and 600 cartons of corned beef, part of 20,000 bags of rice, 20,000 bags of beans, cooking oil and assorted animal feeds.
The items were dispatched by President William Ruto recently to target 3.5 million Kenyans affected by drought.
The food will be distributed to Pokot Central, Kipkomo, Kacheliba, West Pokot, Pokot South and Pokot North sub-counties.
West Pokot County Commissioner Apollo Okello on Thursday said the consignment arrived this week and will be distributed to needy families.
“A number of people have been complaining of hunger due to the devastating drought in some parts of the region. This relief food donated by the government will help sustain them against the effects of climate change,” said Mr Okello.
He noted that some parts of the county had experienced perennial drought, resulting in food shortages.
He said the government was committed to addressing the needs of all Kenyans suffering as a result of the devastating drought.
He called on the county government to allocate funds to buy emergency food in case the situation worsens, calling on donors to supplement government efforts in helping those affected.
West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin attributed food shortages to high prices of farm inputs.
“We need affordable farm inputs,” he said.
“Many farmers were unable to afford the cost of farm inputs such as a 50kg of DAP planting fertiliser, which was retailing at Sh6,000, up from between Sh2,500 and Sh3,000 in the last planting season, thus preventing them from utilising their land effectively.”
Lowering the prices, he said, would help address food insecurity.
He also said that because of higher fuel prices, owners of tractors hiked the cost of ploughing from Sh3,000 to Sh4,000 per acre, discouraging many farmers from planting on more land.
