By JOSEPH MASHA

The Government says many families in Kilifi may suffer from hunger due to anticipated poor maize crop harvest this season.

Kilifi District Agriculture Officer Jane Kanamu said some farmers are unlikely to harvest anything after their maize crop weathered before maturity.

She blamed the situation on low rainfall that also came late compared to the other years.

“A survey by the Ministry of Agriculture shows that maize harvest this season, which is the staple food for residents, is going to fall due to lack of enough rainfall.

Due to that, we anticipate hunger will hit many families,” said Kanamu.

Modern methods

Briefing the press on food crops performance this season, the officer said though farmers’ cultivated big portions of land and applied modern farming methods like ploughing with tractors and applied fertilisers, the expected end product is low due to lack of sufficient rain.

“At the Coast, rains are normally expected in March, but this year the rains came at the end of May and cut off after a very short period,” she said.

The officer said for those who managed to plant early, had their maize crop suffer from lack of water, which affected its growth, resulting to poor yields.

However, the officer noted with the on going little rains, farmers who planted late could harvest something but on condition that the showers continue coming.

Low Food security

“The situation on the ground is not impressive as most of the maize crop has now weathered due to water stress. That means that crop production to be drastically affected,” said Kanamu.

She advised farmers to plant short-term crops like cowpeas to get alternative sources of food.

“Food security this season is expected to be low as most farmers are not going to harvest anything though they had prepared big portions of land and applied the required farming methods” added Kanamu.

The officer said areas like Kitsoeni were the worst hit, having had no rain since the beginning of the year.

Records from the District Drought Management office in Kilifi indicate that over 100,000 people in the region that comprises of Bahari, Ganze, Kikambala, Kaloleni and Rabai have been relying on food donations from the Government and other charitable organisations.

The records show the area has been receiving inadequate rainfall for the last three years.

 Spent Sh30,000

Mr Josphat Washe, a farmer at Lutsangani in Chonyi, said he spent more than Sh30,000 to hire and prepare his four acres of land for farming, but feared that there would be no returns.

“When I planted my maize, I had high hopes of getting better harvest but the rains cut off, causing my maize crop to wither”, he said.