YVONNE’S TAKE: The rains are here, let us now pray for wisdom

The heavens have shined on us, and opened up, and behold we have rain. No matter how short-lived they may be, we thank God for the rains. Now, we just need to pray for brains. You see, the drought we are facing in the country, is largely due to the effects of climate change. Climate change caused by the developed world, whose consequences we in the developing nations greatly bear the brunt.

But folks, we cannot blame everything on the West. Some of these problems ni shida za kujitakia. We have problems with making strategic decisions, it’s like the right hand of the government doesn’t know what its left hand is doing. Simple actions that can secure our food security are rarely taken and we watch opportunities wash away.

Just this week, we reported drought and food scarcity in Nyandarua. That is not the whole story. You see, Nyandarua is a land of contrasts. The report we aired was about plenty in Kinangop, one of the sub-counties in Nyandarua, where farmers have a bumper harvest of cabbages, potatoes, carrots and milk. The same case is replicated in the neighboring Kipipiri sub-county and parts of Ol Kalou sub-county. But in the same county, in a sub-county called Ndaragwa, there is drought. The distance between Kinangop and Ndaragwa is a maximum hour and a half drive. So why would people in Ndaragwa suffer a lack of food while their county mates are throwing away food. Is it a climate change issue, or a food management issue?

Let us move to the county of Nyeri, not far from Nyandarua County. Parts of Kieni sub-county are dry, and residents are feeling the pain of hunger. Yet in the same county, in sub-counties such as Othaya, Mukurweini and Mathira, there is enough food.

But then there is also the story of Mwea, Kenya’s biggest rice producer. Where the problem is not in fact one of drought, it is human interference. You see, the farmers there claim that the water from the dam is supplied to some farmers and denied others. We showed you pictures of some of the rice paddies, dried up, with others still in the same area on the other side, green and lush and thriving. Then we will complain of a rice shortage in this country.

In Kisumu, just yesterday, we reported on cage fish farmers who have decried the high cost of feed for fish, asking the government to subsidise the taxes on the same. They complain that they are unable to compete with the cheap fish being imported from Uganda and many of the fisherfolk and traders are going out of business. Now, remember, cage fish farming is itself a form of environmental conservation as it helps to ensure that the fish in the lake are not depleted due to overfishing. So, even the fish farmers’ best efforts at conservation are not rewarded.

And now the rains are here, and soon we shall see stories of flooding in the common areas like Narok. What will happen to that water that will flow furiously to waste? In fact, what have we done with that water in the past? We have folded our hands and shaken our heads in shock and disbelief at the fury of the water, rather than find ways to collect it and preserve for the future.

Further, let us take a look at where we put our interventions. We are focusing on funding the production of food. Putting money and resources into fertiliser and irrigation, but forgetting the key principles of the chain of production, market and consumption. If you facilitate more production without guaranteeing farmers' market for their produce, will we not be replicating the Kinangop scenario where that farmer will have too much in his or her hands and too little in his or her pocket. And when you avail the market for the farmer to sell his produce, the consumer must also be facilitated through a conducive environment to do business and to earn a livelihood, therefore, enabling him or her to have some money in the pocket to afford and therefore buy the produce from the market and complete the chain. That way, the farmer who produces, the trader at the market who sells that produce, and the consumer will have been joined in one complete cycle that benefits all.

Listen, folks, this is not rocket science. The solutions are here with us. We can blame climate change, cry out to the Almighty all day long and hope for a miracle, but some of our problems are of our own making. So, as we pray for rains, let’s pray for brains too.

That’s my Take!