The short rains expected from mid-October to December could help significantly in the recovery of drought-affected crops in parts of Kenya's Rift Valley region.
Leonard Ochieng, the provincial director of agriculture in the Rift Valley, says farmers should take advantage of the rains to increase output to avaert a drought crisis.
"We had planned to harvest 30 million, 90kg bags this year. We put in a lot of effort to ensure this target was met but relying on rainfall which did not come on time affected the outcome. Now we hope the short rains will help us recover part of the crop,” said Ochieng’.
He said that Rift Valley’s cereal yield this year have been affected by low, erratic and poorly distributed rainfall in some areas.
Michael Makokha, the food security and early warning systems specialist for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said: “Upto 40 per cent recovery of the maize crop is possible in the North Rift, which was adversely affected by the poor rainfall. The South Rift could recover up to 60 percent of the crop.”
Makokha urged farmers in the Rift Valley to take advantage of the anticipated rains to plant off-season crops and bridge their food gaps.
“It is high time communities re-oriented their tastes and preferences towards agro-ecologically adaptable crops such as cassava, sorghum, sweet potatoes, green grams and cow peas to avoid recurrent household food insecurity," he advised.
A combination of poor rainfall, declining soil fertility from over-cropping, deforestation and high food prices has led to significant maize crop failure in parts of the three provinces. Traditionally, these were considered Kenya's grain basket, but agriculturalists predict a maize deficit this year of at least 12 million 90kg bags.
"We need to look at all aspects of food security and water is an important component; we need to ensure that roof catchments are tapped at household level and each family should at least have a water storage tank," he said.