Elections should not overshadow drought

The voter registration campaigns might make it easy to forget the plight of people affected by drought if care is not taken, as all the focus has been geared towards the August elections.

Thousands of families across the country are in dire need of food and water for themselves as well as their livestock. Although the Government has begun the distribution of relief food to those affected and assured pastoralists that they will be provided with water and hay for their livestock, the process need to be hastened to avert the loss of life.

It is true that drought is a natural calamity but there is much that can be done by the Government to avert it. This time, let the effort not stop at food and water distribution as has been always the case.

Rather, let the relevant authorities put in place workable measures that will help address the problem.

The authorities should drill bore holes and build dams as strategies to harvest water in the rainy season. At the same time, let them advocate for more trees to be planted to attract rain.

The Government should also give farmers free fertilisers and seedlings to entice more people to venture into farming, and irrigation projects across the country should be given priority.

Farming should be introduced as a course in the polytechnics to target the youths.

In addition, a ready market should be created for farmers' produce to prevent them from moving to cash crops due to losses made in food crop farming.

Farmers should also be taught different irrigation methods and be encouraged to grow drought-resistant crops in the dry season.