About 45,516 households in Murang’a County are currently in need of food, water and other basic needs due to the prolonged drought.
According to National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), official Mr Loroman Lekalkuli has revealed that the county received depressed rainfall in the last short rain season subjecting scores of residents to starvation.
The official said that maize and beans production in the county dropped by more than 60 per cent.
He noted that the projected maize production in the county stands at 126,780 sacks of maize against more than 400,000 sacks of 90 kilos which is usually produced during a short rain season.
“The rains were not enough to support crops to maturity and this has occasioned hunger in several parts of the county,” he said.
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Speaking during a consultative forum on drought held at the county commissioner’s office, the official said the majority of the affected families are drawn from Kambiti, Ithanga, Kakuzi, Gaturi and Mbiri wards.
He added that some parts of the mentioned wards recorded crop failure of up to 90 per cent.
The coordinator feared that the situation may be worse before the next rainy season, saying that areas which lay in lower zones of Murang’a were currently facing acute water shortage.
“The government together with other stakeholders is working on how to start distributing humanitarian aid to the affected families. Already 2, 716 households are slated to get food among other supplies from the national drought steering committee before mid-March,” noted Lekalkuli.
He noted the listed families were among those severely affected by drought saying more food supplies would be available before the end of April.
The coordinator further said milk production has decreased saying most households were currently producing up to 1. 5 litres of milk as compared to a normal of 2.5 litres.
“The drop of milk production can be attributed to the poor livestock body condition as a result of diminishing forage,” he further said.
Meanwhile, Lekalkuli observed that the government has allocated Sh4.5 million to rehabilitate two boreholes in Murang’a south sub-county.
The boreholes, he stated, will help to mitigate water shortage in the areas where currently residents are forced to walk for long distances to access water.
