Cynthia Alexander visited Ndathi, Kenya in May and writes...

Posted on Jun 08, 2008

When I visited Kenya in late May, I found our friends generally in good health and good spirits. The recent political unrest had taken its toll, though. Among its consequences was substantially rising prices not only for food, but also for seeds and fertilizer. The insufficient rain during this rainy season is leading some to predict a famine in the coming months. Already many are struggling to feed their families, and some households have no food. Farmers with a water source are faring better than those without (in fact I saw that the crops on farms without water were withering and clearly would not yield anything this season).

Our friend Esther writes: “Due to political and tribal crisis that faced our country early in the year, prices of almost everything have sharply risen, making them unaffordable to ordinary Kenyans. It is now difficult for most people to meet basic needs, and there is a possible famine in our area. Food prices have gone up by over 200% while farm inputs [like fertilizer] are worst hit. As I am writing there is a shortage of rain, adding to the problem. There is shortage of farm produce and those available are very expensive. Alternative foodstuffs in the shops are equally expensive. Things are challenging now to ordinary citizens.”

The Snow Snappers co-op, a group of 77 farmers who raise snow peas (and who have access to sufficient water) have been unable to purchase fertilizer this season because the price has more than tripled since last year. They have requested funds to enable each farmer to buy 60 kgs. of fertilizer, which is enough to farm ¼ acre and which now costs 6,000 Kenyan shillings (or about $100 at current exchange rates).

Esther concluded: “[O]nly those with irrigation water can save the situation and avert famine. That’s why [one] has to assist where [one] can. Remember if your next neighbor has, you are also rich (Kikuyu proverb).”<