New Thoughts on the Kenyan Drought.

Its very disheartening to watch Kenyans starving while this nation has so much potential. Its so shameful that we live in a perennial cycle of hunger and drought. I believe that its possible for every Kenyan to be fed and live a life of comfort and abundance. Unfortunately we as a nation are addicted to emergency interventions, when there is no food, plead for aid, when there is no electricity get emergency power. We consistently evade the real issues, we wont to attack the symptoms, not the fundamentals.



For a long while I have felt that the recurrent problem of food in northern Kenya is about development rather than rations. Its about the deprivation of an opportunity to develop and make a difference. Every time the Kenyan leadership talks about taking drought resistant crops to northern Kenya, on the surface it looks plausible but in depth it’s a flawed solution. For hundred of years the people of Northern Kenya have been pastoralists,  not farmers, we cant wake up and decide to make them farmers, we should instead work with what is there, their livestock. Anybody who has the slightest knowledge of livestock keeping in Australia realizes the enormous earnings potential of livestock, so it only makes sense to start where the people of northern Kenya are. Its time the Kenyan leadership promoted livestock education in northern Kenya, developed infrastructure there and promote proper livestock practices and technology. If the people of Northern Kenya could have money in their pockets they wouldn’t need relief food.

Look at it this way, people in cities don’t grow crops, but they don’t starve because they have incomes and with income comes entitlement, that is what should happen in Northern Kenya. There Is so much potential up north, I don’t understand why they have to endure such severe poverty. I mean look at the fishing potential in Lake Turkana, look at the tourism potential of the numerous exotic islands in Lake Turkana, Lake Turkana is arguably the most idyllic unexplored destination in this country, It is time that we promoted the utilization of the resources of Northern Kenya, Koobi fora for instance is a world acclaimed prehistoric site but Kenyans barely know of it, You see, it has to start with us, local tourists first, then the international ones. The cattle in Northern Kenya if promoted well could attract industries from meat processing and leather industries, but infrastructure is needed, electricity, roads and most of all education. The people of Northern Kenya deserve better and Kenya deserves to enjoy prosperity and wealth. All these is only achievable with proper plans, political goodwill and of course peace among the communities of Northern Kenya.

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