Good News out of Kenya

I read this article at www.allAfrica.com news today. It is welcome news indeed.  I applaud the Kenyan government for this vision to help keep the country in food security. I hope they have the fortitude to see it through to completion and moreover, that the plan meets with success.  I've been hearing about the plan for awhile but haven't actually read anything official until now.

In my own work with farmers to help them plant and fertilizer their fields, I know that it can get very expensive for a subsistence farmer.  So I was happy to hear that part of the plan involves making seeds and fertilizers available to farmers at an affordable price. I just hope that farmers can afford the price.  Inflation has been so high in Kenya over the last two years and virtually all necessities have doubled or tripled in cost, while the Kenyan currency has lost a lot of strength on the world market.

My own photo of the Perkarra Irrigation Project near Marigat. See the fields are green in this dry and arid place.

==========

ABOUT 1.2million hectares will be irrigated in the next five years as part of the government plan to eradicate drought-related hunger in the country, President Kibaki has said.

Speaking during the official opening of the 2011 Nairobi International Trade Fair on Friday, President Kibaki said this will reduce the country's reliance on rain-fed agriculture and guarantee the country food security. "I am directing the ministry of Water and Irrigation, the ministry of Agriculture and the Treasury to put in place adequate measures that will ensure that this is achieved," Kibaki said.

He said the government is committed to support the continued growth of the agricultural sector. "We are determined to see the transformation of this sector from one that mainly focuses on subsistence to commercial and market-oriented," said Kibaki. He added that infrastructure such as transport and energy plays an important role in agriculture and therefore the government had in the last seven years embarked on an ambitious road construction progamme.

Kibaki urged crop and livestock farmers to increase their production and benefit from the enhanced access to markets and improved distribution networks. In 2010 agriculture registered a growth of about 6 percent which is the highest achieved in the country in four years. The growth was fueled by the rise in the production of tea,cereals,sugar and coffee.

He noted that Kenya's food production has declined over the last few years due to several factors like drought,escalating food and fuel prices as well as high cost of farm inputs like fertilisers. He assured Kenyans that some measures had been set in place to mitigate the impact of increasing food prices. "The government has waived import duty on maize and wheat for a period of six months with effect from July this year," Kibaki said.

He added that the government had put in places measures to ensure that key agricultural inputs are available to farmers at an affordable price. "The ministry of Agriculture has a stock of about 40,000 metric tones of assorted fertiliser and adequate seeds for the next short rains,"Kibaki said. Present at the function was Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, minister for Agriculture Sally Kosgei among others.

Kalonzo urged the participants,exhibitors and farmers to take advantage of the trade fair to enhance food security in the country as well as earn the country foreign exchange and reduce the rate of inflation. 360 exhibitors were present in the trade fair to exchange their products including China, France, South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, Israel, Uganda among others. Kosgei urged the government to subsidise seeds and fertilisers inputs to help smallscale farmers afford the cost.

=======

Simple Eats

While I am a simple cook, sometimes simple can be so nice. Today I made dinner consisting of brown rice cooked the old fashioned way on the stove top, roasted chicken drumsticks and a colourful black bean and corn salad.

The salad consists of:

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn kernels

• 1 medium red pepper, washed and diced

• 2 stalks of green onions, washed, peeled and diced

• 1/2 papaya, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

• 1 lime

After you assemble and prepare all the ingredients, simply toss them together with the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon.

If you like spices, you can add cayenne pepper and garlic. Or, you can add some avocado if you wish. As for me, I left out the spices and used bigger chunks of papaya.

Tip:  There is no need to defrost the corn kernels first. I made this salad while the rice and chicken were cooking.  By the time the main meal is ready to be plated, the corn kernels in the salad are thawed enough to eat.

I am grateful that we in the west can still eat. 

Even if we have no money there are things like food banks and soup kitchens

as long as you are able bodied enough to walk to these places. 

My heart and head are still concerned about the hungry and the 

dying in the Horn of Africa. Please consider your gift today. 

You can find donate buttons on the side of my blog.

UN makes historic Somali aid drop - Africa

Friends have a look at this story
UN makes historic Somali aid drop - Africa - Al Jazeera English to learn some of the recent events in the Horn of Africa.

If you missed my introductory post, please check out "Crisis in the Horn of Africa",  posted July 31st, 2011.

There are donate buttons on the side of my page also for World Vision and World Food Programme.  If you prefer to give to those at the grassroots level, you can donate to Missions of Hope here.

Do You Know What You Will Eat Today?

My blogging friends,

If you know what you will eat today, you are very blessed indeed.

In case any of you are in doubt about whether there are starving Kenyans in the Nation of Kenya, East Africa, I wanted to post this opinion piece from the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. He was making a heart felt appeal to the nation through his opinion piece, which I have reproduced in full below (you can also click on the word "opinion piece" to be linked to the original post).

I also wanted to show you what my friend Jonah from the Missions of Hope has been doing in northern Kenya in terms of food aid.  The food relief effort shown in the photos, occurred in March of 2011. It was a relief effort to help the northern Pokot peoples.  Jonah would like to go again next month if he is able to get more food aid and helpers.

I am not making any appeal for money in this post (although anyone who wants to help Jonah with food aid to the Pokot is free to do so here). Mostly this post is to let you know what is happening at this moment in Kenya in case you haven't yet seen it on the news. My friends in Kenya are working as hard as they can to help themselves and help others. Please keep them in prayer. Pray too for peace and plenty in the Horn of Africa and for coordinated efforts at humanitarian aid.

Pokot tribal people in  northwestern Kenya gather for food relief

Village women gather excitedly around the convoy.

Jonah of Missions of Hope and his team of volunteers were able to take food to the Pokot peoples a few months ago. The food shortage has been ongoing for some time in parts of Kenya. 

 Jonah hopes to take another team with food relief in August. 
Please pray for him to have enough helpers and adequate supplies.
==========================================================

Let’s help our starving fellow Kenyans

Posted by Opinion Leaders on July 29, 2011

 

BY UHURU KENYATTA
My fellow Kenyans it is abundantly clear that we are faced with a crisis of great magnitude.
Our fellow Kenyans are in dire need of food assistance, and several of them have trekked for long distances looking for food and water in order to sustain themselves.
Despite the efforts that the Government has put in place which includes medium to long term measures to address food security as articulated through the last Budget, I appreciate that this situation is urgent and demands urgent action.
These are times when we have to come together as a people, put aside our differences and realise that we are all Kenyans bound by a common heritage and it is our duty to preserve and uphold the dignity and livelihood of one another.
This spirit has been exhibited in the past; during early years of our independence under the call ‘Harambee’, we came together to build our emerging nation. More recently following the turmoil around the events of the last election we came together to assist one another.
My fellow Kenyans, today we are faced with a similar call to sacrifice. I sincerely applaud the Kenyans who have come together to raise money through the Kenyans for Kenya and Feed Kenya initiatives.
I encourage other Kenyans to also come together as individuals in their everyday lives to form groups and make their own contribution towards these efforts. Let us also keep contributing through MPESA to PayBill 111111 or KCB account 1133333338.
The ideal of Kenyans coming out to help other Kenyans is one that I support and has always been close to my heart. Even once we get through this crisis, because we will, this spirit should remain.
In addition to monetary contributions, I appeal to you to come out and volunteer to help our brothers and sisters who are facing this calamity.
It is in times like this that we must look beyond our differences and act as patriotic Kenyans. Always Remembering that we are Kenyans. One people under one flag.
(Mr Kenyatta is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance)

==========================================================

For those of you unfamiliar with the MPesa is a system in Kenya of transferring money to others or paying bills through your mobile phone. This is a wonderful mechanism because many Kenyans live in rural areas without access to banks and bank accounts. In virtually every part of the country you will find a cell phone service provider. Safaricom is, I think the largest provider and they have MPesa but other cell providers have a similar service.

 In addition to starving Kenyans in parts of Kenya, there are now many Somalian refugees streaming into Kenya due to drought and famine. Please pray for this situation as international aid agencies and the United Nations grapple with the crisis.  Also pray for food to be able to be equitably and safely distributed in both Kenya and Somalia to people who really need it. Read more here about hunger in the Horn of Africa.

Photo credits: Jonah at Missions of Hope
Story Credit:  Capital FM Kenya Blog