Thursday March 16, 2023
The Kenya Meteorological Department has advised Kenyans to plant drought-resistant crops due to expected depressed rains, the privately-owned Kenyans.co.ke website reports.
The department's climate services assistant director, Richard Muita, advised farmers to consider beans, cassava and vegetables, rather than maize, the staple food.
"The level of moisture in the soil is normally zero. Although there may be storms at the start, they may not cancel out the deficit.
"We have beans, potatoes, cassava, vegetables, millet, and sorghum. They mature in two-three months, and then you have food. You can use the surplus to sell and buy maize."
Mr Muita also advised Kenyans to harvest water during the rainy season, with a number of regions, such as Western Kenya, expected to experience rains from mid-March.
At least 2.5m children are out of school amid Kenya's worst drought in 40 years, according to the UN children's agency, Unicef.
The number of Kenyans in need of food aid has risen by nearly two million since July 2022, according to government estimates.