Famine looms large as at least 200,000 people face hunger in drought-ravaged Tana River County.

The deteriorating drought situation has left many households struggling with severe water shortages, crop failures and livestock losses.

23 counties across the country, including Tana River, are facing rain failure challenges that have left over 2.3 million people food insecure.

The cabinet last week approved Sh4.1 billion funding for drought relief assistance to prevent loss of lives and livestock in arid and semi-arid parts of the country.

Successive failed rains combined with extreme weather conditions have led to severe water and food shortages and crop failure.

According to the County Steering Group (CSG) on drought mitigation, the area is entering an ‘emergency phase’ as lack of water and pasture resources grips the region.

The CSG has noted that the ongoing severe drought in most parts of the county has left livestock emaciated, affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of residents, especially livestock keepers.

The CSG, during an emergency food security meeting, urged immediate action by stakeholders to mitigate the impact of the biting drought.

According to the CSG, key priority needs include food assistance, water provision, livestock feed and nutrition support.

The CSG resolved to strengthen coordination among government agencies and humanitarian actors to ensure the timely delivery of food supplies, water and animal feeds.

The region where animals are a measure of wealth is experiencing acute crop and fodder failure following prolonged periods of dry spell.

A spot-check by KNA shows that residents face food scarcity, contend with livestock and crop loss and escalating economic hardship brought on by the biting drought.Farming and pastoralist communities say rising temperatures as a result of the drought situation destroyed crops and pastures and left livestock weak and emaciated.

The impact of the drought can be seen everywhere as once lush fields of crops have withered and livestock look weak and emaciated, as the situation remains fragile.

According to experts, the devastating drought has been caused by a dramatic shift in weather patterns blamed on climate change.

Rains have not fallen in arid and semi-arid parts of the county for two consecutive seasons, leaving agriculture and livestock-dependent households destitute.

Water pans, boreholes and dams, particularly in Kone, Bura and Bangale subcounties have dried up, forcing residents and their livestock to walk long distances in search of the precious commodity.                                          

The CSG co-chaired by Tana River Governor Major (Rtd) Dhadho Godhana and area County Commissioner (CC) Joseph Mwangi, noted that due to the protracted drought, the county was entering an 'emergency situation'.

CC Mwangi says the national government is scaling up relief operations and assistance to residents facing severe food shortages.

Mwangi said the national government is adequately prepared to provide short-term and long-term sustainable interventions to reinforce resilience among communities affected by the ongoing drought.

“Already the national government has distributed 3,000 bags of rice and 2,000 bags of beans to the most vulnerable households,” said Mwangi.

"We are taking every measure possible to avoid any loss of life from the drought situation," he said.

Governor Godhana said residents are facing extreme water and food shortages that require immediate intervention to rescue the situation and avert a possible humanitarian disaster.

Godhana says the drought situation has left many residents facing acute food and water shortages, and that his administration has embarked on water trucking and food distribution exercises.

He says as drought bites, confrontation between crop farmers and livestock keepers is on the rise as herders seeking dwindling reserves of pasture and water clash with crop farmers along the banks of the River Tana.

“As a devolved unit, we have teamed up with the National Drought Management Authority(NDMA), Kenya Red Cross Society and other humanitarian agencies to continue providing emergency support and mitigate the effects of the prolonged drought,” he said.

In a recent report, the NDMA said the coming weeks and months will be decisive as the drought tightens its grip as a result of the recurrent climate shocks.

He said that the local branch of Red Cross is providing food assistance and fortified porridge to affected households and vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, children and the elderly.

Other ongoing efforts include providing water trucking and food assistance to thousands of households to enable families survive the severe drought.

The county boss urged residents to transition from the traditional open grazing to proactive fodder farming to boost animal productivity and mitigate the perennial farmer-herder conflicts.

He said the county is also responding with health and veterinary support services as part of mediate response to the crisis.

The county boss says poverty remains widespread as livestock keepers and smallholder farmers along the banks of river tana have been devastated by recurrent floods and droughts.

Godhana said his administration is determined that no one dies of hunger and will be scaling up the distribution of relief food to cushion the drought victims.

He said food assistance would be scaled up in the weeks and months ahead to reach a larger portion of the population affected by the biting drought.

Source - https://www.the-star.co.ke