Food security in focus as climate change meet opens

As the inaugural Africa Climate Summit kicks off in Nairobi today, drought ravaging many countries on the continent caused by climate change remains a major challenge, which should be addressed.
In Kenya alone, more than five million people are in need of relief food aid due to erratic rainfall patterns which resulted in total crop failure in some countries.

According to the 2022 short rains season assessment report, conducted between January 11 and February 10, the number of food insecure population in need of humanitarian assistance have increased from 3.5 million in July 2022 to the current 4.4 million people, the report notes.

Among them, 495,362 were identified in nine traditionally non-ASAL counties including Machakos, Homa Bay, Migori, Siaya, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kirinyaga and Murang’a.

The report also found out over 970,000 children under five years and 142,000 pregnant and lactating women are acutely malnourished across the 23 counties assessed.

Food crisis

Furthermore, out of the 4.4 million food-insecure people, approximately 3.6 million are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) while the remaining 800,000 are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), with counties of Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir and Garissa having the highest proportions (55 percent) of their populations in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and above.

According to the Kenya Food Security Steering Group (KFSSG) report, the deteriorating food insecurity in the 23 counties is driven by prolonged drought due the poor performance of 2020 short rains which was below average and characterised by late onset and poor distribution both in time and space.

Consequently, the poor rainfall performance, in addition to other drivers, led to below average crop production significantly reducing household food availability, access and consumption.

Experts now predict that the food situation will further worsen during the long rains season owing to the forecasted below normal rains further exacerbating drought conditions with the population facing acute food insecurity expected to reach 5.4 million by June 2023.

The poor rainfall performance also led to decline in livestock productivity leading to up to 70% decline in milk production across most pastoral areas.

Lost livestock

Livestock diseases were also reported across different areas including an unidentified camel disease outbreak reported in Garissa County during the short rains season affecting production and marketability of livestock and an outbreak of Anthrax, resulting in 1000 camel deaths in Wajir County.

Since October 2022, livestock mortalities (driven by starvation, dehydration and disease as a result of the drought) were reported across several pastoral and marginal mixed farming zones, including the death of 203,198 cattle, 584,250 goats, 615,407 sheep and 83,456 camels across Marsabit, Turkana and Samburu counties.

Equally, the counties of Kajiado, Laikipia and Nyeri recorded a total of 475,363 livestock deaths due to the ongoing drought (270,354 cattle, 141,620 sheep and 63,983 goats.

“It is crucial that more funding is availed to support humanitarian assistance efforts and sectoral interventions to effectively mitigate the worsening acute food insecurity in the coming months keeping in mind the high likelihood of another below average rainfall season over the March to May long rains period,” the report reads.

The Kenyan government has since embarked on livestock off-take programme in more than 20 counties to cushion against the effects of drought with the programme set to cost more than Sh500 million.

Mitigating loses

The programme, which is being spearheaded by the national government and other partners including the Red Cross and the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC), is aimed at mitigating the effects of losses to farmers in ASAL regions as a result of death of livestock due to the persistent drought.

It will benefit 267,000 people the affected counties which include: Kwale, Lamu, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Tana River, Turkana, Samburu, West Pokot, Baringo, Kajiado, Narok, Laikipia, Nyeri, Embu, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Makueni, Kitui, Marsabit, Isiolo, Wajir, Garissa and Mandera.

Some regions in the country like the North Eastern have not received any rains for three consecutive seasons leaving agriculture and livestock dependent households destitute.

According to experts, the devastating drought has been caused by a dramatic shift in weather patterns blamed on climate change. The climate summit aims to address the increasing exposure to climate change and its associated costs, both globally and particularly Africa.

With the expectation of escalating climate crises in terms of frequency and intensity, urgent action is required to mitigate these challenges.

The summit which runs from September 4-8 will serve as a platform to inform, frame and influence commitments, pledges and outcomes, ultimately leading to the development of the Nairobi declaration.

The African Climate Summit, Africa Climate Week will provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners, businesses and civil society to exchange on climate solutions, barriers to overcome and opportunities realized in different regions.