Drought is looming in Kilifi following the low rainfall in the county which has affected crop production.
The Meteorological Department has revealed that the county, which is prone to dry spells, received only 15 per cent of what is normally expected in the month of May.
Farmers are facing low crop production and there are fears that thousands of residents could soon be affected by food shortages.
A spot check in some parts of Malindi and Magarini revealed that farmers planted as early as March and April but the crops are wilting due to lack of rainfall.
Jonathan Ngayai from Kilifi county meteorological services department said before the season started, they gave a seasonal forecast for the 90 days which was to cover March, April and May called the long rain forecast.
In their forecast, he said they had indicated that rains would be near normal, adding that the season would be characterised by long dry spells.
“The long dry spells had an impact and are still having an impact. The month of April didn’t perform very well in our county, most people planted but we had a degree of germination in some areas while in some there was no germination,” he said.
Ngayai said their forecast for May indicated that Kilifi would receive below normal rains and the dry spells were to continue.
He said most areas in which they have been collecting data, rainfall performance was very poor.
“In fact, comparing it with the long-term averages taking records from our Msabaha meteorological station, we have only received just 15 per cent of what is called long-term averages,” he said.
Normally he said, May is when the county records the highest amount of rainfall but this was not the case this year.
With the poor rainfall recorded, he said, drought is setting in.
Ngayai said currently, maize production has been affected and, in some farms, crops are wilting which clearly shows there are challenges ahead.
The meteorological official said there is a need for intervention measures to be put in place in Kilifi because drought is setting in and there will be conflict over pasture, water and food.
He urged stakeholders including the media step in to disseminate information about the disaster ahead.
Ngayai said the forecast for June, July and August indicates the situation will not change and there would be drought.
“Now that the performance of our crops is not encouraging, the future is not good and so we need intervention. We need to put in place measures to mitigate drought effects,” he said.
Devolution executive Prof Gabriel Katana said the county has already formed a committee led by his Agriculture counterpart to roll out measures ahead of drought.
He said the rains are poor and crops are in bad condition which calls for early planning.
“Already talks have begun which have brought together different stakeholders and departments with a view to begin strategies for responding to the situation as the crop yield will be poor,” he said.
In Magarini residents have already lost hope as many planted but crops did not germinate and are calling upon the government to intervene.
Francis Mupe a resident of Magarini said this season they had prepared their farms in good time but the rainfall was low.
Christine Kabunda Yaa a resident of Bungale said she is worried her family will suffer from drought, this is after she planted crops on her five acres but the rains failed.
She said currently she has resorted to charcoal burning and selling winnowers for survival.
Hemed Abdulrahman the Assistant county Commissioner Magarini said the situation in his subcounty is worrying and they have begun a fact-finding mission in the grassroots so as to get reports of crop production situation.
-Edited by SKanyara
