Brace for food shortage

It seems we are not out of the woods even with the ongoing rains in parts of the country.

A report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) shows the October to December rainfall was below average in pastoral and marginal agricultural areas of eastern and northern Kenya.

And it warns that about four million people in 17 counties are at risk of hunger and starvation in the next three to five months.

2021 has been a bad year. Swarms of locusts and prolonged drought have made life miserable in many counties. Even with the current rains, many people are still in need of humanitarian aid.

The government should continue supporting these people even as it steps up efforts to confront the next big food shortage predicted by FEWS NET. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.