More than 28,000 needy families in Kinango subcounty will get relief food rations from the county government and Base Titanium company in Kwale.
Each will get a package containing 12kg of maize flour, 7kg of beans, 4kg of wheat flour, salt, sanitiser, masks among others.
The residents depend on agriculture and livestock but harvested little after crops failed to do well in the majority of the areas.
Governor Salim Mvurya said the relief food programme is an effort to cushion residents from Covid-19 shocks.
“We have been partnering with different stakeholders like Base Titanium who have been at the frontline in helping the county to respond to some of the locals’ basic needs as the new virus ravage their livelihoods day by day,” Mvurya said.
In April Mvurya launched a Sh450 million food relief emergency programme targeting needy households in Kwale.
The county assembly rejected a supplementary budget for a further Sh160 million to buy food. MCAs diverted the cash for medical supplies and water provision.
The governor later turned to well-wishers and sponsors to keep the food programme running.
Mvurya urged Kwale residents to embrace agribusiness to alleviate the effects of hunger caused by coronavirus pandemic.
He said the county will give residents 100 tonnes of seedlings that will be distributed early next week.
Mvurya said farming will be a permanent solution to Kinango residents and other people living in dry areas.
“In as much as we do the intervention we have to start looking for ways to make agricultural activities more productive to reduce over-reliance on relief food,” he said.
The county chief said his government will take advantage of the Nyalani, Mwakalanga, Dziweni, Kizingo, Mtaa dams and water pans to do irrigation farming in Kinango.
He said once the multimillion Kombani fresh produce wholesale market is completed, it will act as a game-changer to the Kwale economy.
Base Titanium community liaison manager Pius Kasim said the firm will support the county to serve residents.
Kasim also urged locals to practice farming for their future benefit in case investors walkout.