A report by the Kenya Food Security Steering Group indicates that $385 million in food aid will be required to address food insecurity in the country over the next four months. It will be necessary to provide around 390,000 metric tonnes of food for 3.8 million people. Most parts of the country have been classified as food insecure, and a number of districts have been indicated as facing a high risk of a humanitarian emergency.
The report says, “The country has experienced another season of failed rains, leading to continued food insecurity. The situation has further been aggravated by compounding factors, including high food prices, increasing conflicts, livestock diseases, low purchasing power, and high malnutrition… The situation is not expected to improve until February 2010 contingent on favourable short rains and implementation of other measures.”
Meanwhile, aid group Action Aid has said that Kenya’s chronic food insecurity problems are unacceptable for a nation that is a major exporter of horticultural products to the rest of the world. The Kenyan government has so far failed to take the necessary steps to prepare for the now fairly predictable food crises and to invest in its agricultural industry to prevent the food deficits from re-occurring.