Alarm as country’s productive regions plead for relief food

• Post-election chaos blamed for grim food situation

The full impact of post election violence on the country’s food security became clear on Monday when it emerged that areas which have traditionally had food surplus now need relief supply.

Areas of Laikipia, Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia and parts of Central Province which have always produced food for sale to the rest of the country did not produce enough this time round.

They are some of the areas which were worst affected by last year’s post election violence. During the chaos, food was burnt on the farms and farmers did not plant for fear of being attacked.

More than 300,000 people, most of them farmers, are estimated to have been displaced.

This, together with the fact that fertiliser prices were high last year, bad weather patterns and the fact that some areas experienced inadequate rains, have been blamed for the food shortage.

President Kibaki is set to declare the food shortage a national emergency soon, with statistics showing that 10 million Kenyans or one in every three people are affected.

This will allow international aid agencies and governments to step in and help.

As a result of the chaos, thousands of acres of lands vacated by the displaced persons were never ploughed as their owners sought refuge in various camps in the country.

Statistics from the Uasin Gishu agricultural district office show that the area under maize in the district fell by about 20,000 acres from last year as a result of the displacement.

Maize harvest also fell from 4,301,400 bags in 2007 to 3,161,549 bags in 2008 in Uasin Gishu district.

More significantly, the violence reduced formerly rich farmers into paupers overnight. Most of them live in squalid conditions in camps as internal refugees.

One such farmer is Mr Jamuel Kiragu.

Youths protesting against the presidential results razed his stores that had 500 bags of maize and 100 bags of wheat at his Mafuta Farm in Moiben, Uasin Gishu district.

They looted all the machines in his compound, which included a tractor, a plough, a harrow and planter and then set his house ablaze.

The 79-year-old father of 16 says since then, operations on his 80-acre farm have come to a standstill.