Lamu residents say meat alone won’t solve their hunger needs

Government officials witness distribution of meat to Lamu residents affected by drought. The residents want more varieties of relief food saying the meat distributed to them is not enough to meet their hunger needs. PHOTO | KALUME KAZUNGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A Sh50 million destocking and slaughter programme was launched last week.
  • It was also agreed that all the meat from the slaughtered cows be distributed to residents.
  • Over 70,000 residents and more than 300,000 livestock are facing starvation in Lamu County.

Residents of drought-stricken parts Lamu County have criticised the livestock destocking and slaughter programme saying the meat distributed to them is not enough to meet their hunger needs.

On Tuesday this week, the national government in conjunction with the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the Ministry of Agriculture and the County Government of Lamu launched a Sh50 million destocking and slaughter programme targeting to purchase at least 1,000 livestock from herders in all villages in Lamu that are hit hard by drought.

The destocking is meant to reduce pressure on pasture lands and water and also to save the herder community of the losses encountered as livestock continue to perish in their numbers due to the ravaging drought in the region.

It was also agreed that all the meat from the slaughtered cows be distributed to residents facing hunger all over Lamu County.

MORE VARIETIES

But speaking to journalists at Moa, Dide Waride, Pangani and Lake Amu on Thursday, the residents urged the government to instead bring them more varieties of relief food to add onto the meat.

“The meat alone is not enough. How can you eat meat three times a day, just plain meat? We need accompanying foods like maize, rice and beans. We also need special foods and supplements for babies who cannot eat this hard stuff,” said Mr Sharif Bokore from Moa Village.

The residents also proposed that most of cash set aside for the destocking slaughter programme to be used for buying relief food to assist them.

“Sh50 million is a lot of money that should also be directed into buying maize, rice and beans to be distributed as relief food to us,” said Mrs Jane Wasike.

However, Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said both the destocking slaughter and commercial off-take programmes are not meant to destruct the distribution of relief food by the government but, instead, to reinforce it.

PATIENCE

He urged residents to be patient, saying the government had last week distributed relief food to locals in various parts of Lamu and that another consignment is also expected by early next week.

“In fact what we are doing is part of the government’s initiative to assist locals from hunger-stricken areas. The meat is distributed to the locals free of charge to meet their nutritional needs during this drought season.

“We have done what Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri told us to do when he toured this region to distribute relief food to the residents,” said Mr Kanyiri.

He added, “Residents should rest assured that relief food distribution will continue. Apart from the 4,000 bags of rice and beans distributed to residents at Poromoko, Moa, Pate and Kizingitini last week, we are also expecting another 500 bags of maize next week to add to what locals have already received.”

According to a recent report from NDMA, over 70,000 residents and more than 300,000 livestock are facing starvation in Lamu County.