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Residents of the lower Eastern region are staring at drought and food insecurity following failed rains that caused poor harvest in the last season.\n<\/p>\n
Machakos, Makueni and Kitui residents, who mainly rely on rain-fed agriculture for subsistence farming, are counting losses after their maize and beans prematurely dried in the farms. <\/p>\n
Although most rivers and streams were replenished following three weeks of heavy rains late last year, a long hot and dry season that followed dashed the hopes of farmers, as crops were damaged.\n<\/p>\n
Machakos County Director of the Meteorological Department Dominic Kyalo yesterday said the problem had been forecasted last year just before the onset of the short rains. He urged farmers to brace for hotter days in the coming weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had sent out warning that the short rains would be inadequate and poorly distributed… The scenario will definitely affect food production\u00a0negatively as a majority of our people rely on rain-fed agriculture,\u201d Kyalo told\u00a0The Standard<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n However, he said some parts of Mwala, Matungulu and Kangundo sub-counties had received rainfall on schedule, and those who planted early were likely to reap a substantial harvest.\n<\/p>\n A spot check by\u00a0The Standard<\/em>\u00a0revealed a sorry state of affairs in most maize and beans fields, which are the main food crops grown by Machakos County residents. <\/p>\n In Francis Musau\u2019s farm at Katangini in Matungulu Sub-county, most maize and bean crops had dried up despite the huge investment he had made in inputs such as fertilizer, certified seeds and timely weeding.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe rains failed and the majority of farmers cannot afford to irrigate… We have been watching helplessly as our crops fizzle out due to the scorching sun,\u201d said Musau.\n<\/p>\n He expressed fear that many families could starve in the coming weeks because their only hope to secure food was in the farms. \u201cThe government must begin to plan to handle food scarcity because certainly there will be hunger in most parts of Ukambani. It should not wait until people start starving,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n Matungulu MP, Stephen Mule and Machakos Town’s Victor Munyaka called for speedy interventions to avert a crisis. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n