Kindiki says gov’t to cushion Kenyans against reduced rainfall and expected El Nino

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has assured the country that the government is taking necessary measures to reduce the impact of depressed rainfall that has impacted food production in some of the country’s food baskets.

The DP said every possible intervention is being explored to cushion farmers from losses as well as to ensure there is no shortage of food supply to any part of the country.

“I assure the country that the government is seized of the matter of what has happened this season and what is projected to happen later this year. We are taking all possible measures to prevent any part of Kenya or any citizen from suffering from lack of food, famine and support farmers to make sure they don’t get disrupted because of the unfavourable weather,” the DP said.

He on Friday morning met respective Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries at the Official Residence in Karen, Nairobi to consolidate the response for the less precipitation reported in various parts of the country and the expected El Nino rainfall later in the year.

“The government will go out of its way to make sure that this situation will not affect the food security of our country. We met this morning to look at some of the immediate interventions we need to make. We have agreed to continue meeting every week to make sure there is enough preparedness for any eventuality,” Prof. Kindiki added.

The Deputy President revealed that the prevailing situation in some of the maize-growing areas has forced the government to come up with mitigating factors including using the affected crop to make animal feeds to reduce losses for farmers.

“We are looking at modalities of using the crop that failed for making animal feed so that farmers can get some income from the crop even if it has not matured,” the DP stated.

With the heavy rains forecasted from October to December, the administration will also ensure mature crops are harvested on time, dried and stored properly to avert post-harvest losses.

“We are also looking at assisting farmers to prepare for the coming El Nino rains projected later in the year. We are focused on farm inputs and farm preparation,” he added.