Every day as we wake up, whether we human beings, animals or even plants as long as God has enabled us to be alive, we all look for one basic thing – FOOD. Food is actualy something that provides nutrients and nutrients are substances that provide energy for activity, growth and all funcrions of the body such as breathin, digesting food, keeping the body warm, materials for growth and repair of the body and for keeping the immune system healthy. With this, lack of food means punishment and death.
Due to this, different countries across the globe have put measures and policies about agriculture and how to ensure her citizens have more than enough to feed on because a healthy nation means a healthy generation, a happy society and a prosperous community. Worldly, over 75% of the worlds employment is from agriculture and its sectors from farming, food processing, transportation, packing and hotel industries among other sectors.
Countries like USA, Japan, Mexico, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, France, Turkey, India, China, Germany are known to be the leading producers of food globally. Recent data released by the government shows that over 10 million Kenyans are in dire need of food and thousands have already lost their lives. In Kenya, the crisis of food shortage has increased especially fro Mandera, Wajir, Samburu, West Pokot, Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit and Turkana counties have been hit most as over 10 thousand livestocks and about 100 people have lost their lives for the past 4 years. In other counties, Covid 19 pandemic, Russia Ukraine war, lack of enough rainfall insecurities in some parts among other factors has been the main factor that have deteroriated the amount of food being produced.
Farmers in Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Nakuru and western counties and Nyanza say the high cost of farm inputs like fertilizer, high cost of ploughing and poor mechanization put in place by the outgoing government is what has caused all this.
The question now is, will the next incoming government improve or make matters worse? The answer is what we all await.
By CORNELIUS WANJOYA