MAGARINI MP Amason Kingi has appealed to the government to send relief food and water to over 60,000 residents in his constituency who are facing starvation. Kingi said the constituents need relief food urgently before the situation worsens. Kingi said the situation has been aggravated by failed rains.
“According to the survey which was conducted recently by the National and Drought Management Authority and Kenya Food Security Steering Committee a big number of residents from Marafa, Adu, Fundisa, Bungale Dagamra, Garashi, Jilore, Chakama, Langobaya and Malindi are going through a tough situation and they need help urgently,” Kingi said.
“Rainfall was adequate at the beginning everyone planted but in the middle rains failed. Crop failure is at 100 per cent,” he added. He said he had tabled the problem to the Ministry of Special Programmes but something is yet to be done. He called on the government through the Ministry of Special Programmes to fast track the donation of relief food and water to the areas before the situation worsens.
Kingi, who is also a Kilifi county governor hopeful, appealed to the government to develop large irrigation schemes in the area. “The irrigation schemes which are in this area are small scale and they need to be improved in order to serve all farms. Magarini constituency has been known to supplying fresh food to Malindi but this is not the case. Large irrigation schemes will return this lost glory,” he said.
He also told the government to put three dams along Sabaki River to help in water harvesting during floods. “There is a lot of water which goes to waste during floods. The water needs to be harvested to avert shortage of food in the future,” he said.