Inadequate rainfall dashes hopes of good maize harvest

Hopes for a good maize harvest in Kenya this year have been dashed following poor rainfall in December, a famine early warning agency said. Crops reaching the critical tasselling stage were unlikely to mature, it added. The most affected areas were the lowlands of Eastern, Coast and Central provinces, the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) said in its latest update on Kenya issued on Tuesday. It said poor rainfall in the predominantly pastoral district of Kajiado in the south was of particular concern and that water scarcity in the northeastern district of Mandera had led to violence that claimed the lives of more than 20 people in early January. Most other pastoral areas received fairly good rains, it added. The Ministry of Agriculture had revised the expected 2004-05 national short rains maize harvest down from 450,000 mt to 30,000 mt, FEWS NET reported. The most significant shortfalls, it added, had been observed in Eastern and Coast provinces and in the southern region of the Rift Valley province. Maize is Kenya's staple food. Meanwhile, the 2004 long rains maize harvesting was under way and the yields are estimated at 1.71 million mt, nearly 20 percent lower than average, the report said. It said the expected maize harvest for both seasons would be 2.01 million mt, about 25 percent below normal. A deficit of 300,000 mt of maize is anticipated during the July 2004-June 2005-production period, FEWS NET said. The effect of the shortfall, it noted, would be felt between April and July 2005 and could worsen if cross-border imports from Tanzania and Uganda remained low.