Pastoralists dependent on food aid “as never before”

Persistent drought has forced many pastoralists in northern and eastern Kenya to become increasingly dependent on emergency food relief, UNOCHA reported on Wednesday in its monthly situation report for Kenya. Although food security had improved in Kenya as a whole during August, drought conditions persisted throughout most of the pastoral rangelands of northern and eastern Kenya, especially in the extreme northwest of Turkana District and in North Eastern Province, it said. A study by the Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ARLMP) had shown the need for relief food in Mandera District, northeastern Kenya, to be “widespread”, and that many herdsmen faced a 50 percent to 60 percent deficit of annual food needs, UNOCHA added.

Food aid would be required at least up until May 2002, because livestock were in very poor condition, and significant rainfall was needed during the short rains in October and November to regenerate depleted pasture, ALRMP said. Although animal health projects were already assisting livestock owners in the affected areas, a more comprehensive programme of de-stocking and supplementary feeding would be required if the October-December short rains were insufficient, according to UNOCHA. Pastoralist livestock production remained depressed in most districts, with the exception of Samburu, Moyale, Marsabit and Ijara districts, casting doubts on the long-term viability of pastoralism, according to humanitarian sources.

However, UNOCHA reported that overall crop production in Kenya was “good”, particularly in the high-potential areas in Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza provinces. Improved harvests together with relief food distributions had resulted in low prices for maize, beans, millet and sorghum, leading to an increase in the purchasing power of food-insecure households, it said. In view of the good harvest in areas of Kenya, the government has said it will stop the importation of cereals in order to provide local farmers with a good price for maize. It has also urged donors to provide cash to allow for the purchase of locally produced maize for food relief programmes.