US urges long-term food aid for Kenya

Kenya's response to its drought-related food crisis was praised on Thursday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also emphasised the need for long-term donor aid to the country's farming sector August 13, 2011 FILE

Kenya's response to its drought-related food crisis was praised on Thursday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also emphasised the need for long-term donor aid to the country's farming sector.      

In a speech in Washington, Secretary Clinton said she has been “very impressed” by the work of scientists at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, which she described as "a top-notch facility".

Kari researchers “are cultivating crops that can thrive in drought and are enriched with essential nutrients,” she told an audience at a food-focused think tank.

“These breakthroughs have already saved lives and I’m sure will save many more in the future.”       

The impact of the current drought would be far worse if not for gains made in recent years, Mrs Clinton added.   

She cited the case of an unnamed woman farmer “from the northernmost arid part of Kenya” whose animals all died in previous droughts.

“Today, thanks to help from international donors, she and the other farmers raise various vegetables and fruits, including mangoes, and her crop is so abundant that she is not only selling them locally, but exporting them to the Middle East,” Mrs Clinton said.     

The Kenyan Government is “moving in the right direction,” she continued, by agreeing to invest at least 10 percent of its national budget in agriculture.

Kenya must do more, however, Mrs Clinton said, pointing to development of free trade in grain imports and exports and the "need to welcome new technologies to bolster drought tolerance, disease resistance and crop yields".

That comment could be taken as a positive reference to Kenya's use of genetically modified crops.

Mrs Clinton also highlighted current and ongoing US aid to Kenya and other countries affected by food shortages.

She called attention to the Obama administration's $3.5 billion Feed the Future initiative which seeks to ensure the food security of African countries in coming years.     

The United States has, meanwhile, provided some $580 million in short-term assistance to drought victims in the Horn, Mrs Clinton noted.       

And while that contribution surpasses any other donor's, Richard Downie, a researcher at a Washington think tank, points out that it represents only one-sixth the amount the US allocated in response to Haiti's earthquake last year, which affected fewer people.