The condition of the drought in Kenya has left a deep poverty hole in som counties after hundreds of livestock died, with citizens from those counties left with no hopes other than aids., the United Nations said on
The United Nations on Tuesday of the possibility of drought in 2017.
“We really are concerned that the situation is going to deteriorate rapidly early into next year,” Piers Simpkin, a livestock expert with FAO in Kenya, told a news conference.
The predictive livestock early warning system shows how much forage will be available in Kenya up to May 2017.
Developed together with Texas A and M University, the prediction uses computer modeling of water flows and vegetation growth.
“The months of April and May will present a big challenge,” said FAO’s Joseph Matere, an expert working on the early warning system.
Next year’s long rains are also likely to be poor, with a delayed start and below average rainfall, Matere said.
FAO has released $400,000 to spend in Kenya on training, vaccination, animal feed and encouraging people to sell animals before they fall sick.
“Generally, responses to drought or crisis are too little and too late,” said Simpkin, adding that it can take several months for emergency aid to reach people on the ground.
“In the past, money for water trucking is released after the rains have fallen.”
Early responses cost $10 per family, compared to $50 per family at the height of a crisis, he said.