In the past two weeks, a lot of anger has been expressed on why people in Turkana and other arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya have to die from hunger. The anger is justified.

We have a National Disaster and Management Authority (NDMA) that draws from public coffers to help us prepare for disasters. Either the Authority provided a report to the relevant government office and was never acted on or the Authority itself is like many other government agencies that are all but irrelevant.

Kenyans have also a right to feel cheated that the government had learnt from past food shortage because of drought or other uncontrollable factors. It is a shame that in spite of Kenyans rallying each other to save fellow Kenyans suffering from starvation, leaders moved on with politicking as soon as affected people received relief food from Good Samaritans.

It is the government’s responsibility to feed its people. Our Constitution provides that people have a right to food. Why then are people hungry to a point of death? The right to food is so fundamental that when people die because they had nothing to eat is in fact akin to killing someone. The government has to wake up and feed its own people.

To ensure food security in this country, the government should first of all address post-harvest losses. According to a United Nations Food and Security report, nearly one-third of all food produced in the country goes to waste.

A lot of maize goes to waste after harvest in Kakamega, Uasin Gishu and Bomet among other maize growing areas because of poor storage. The National Cereals and Produce Board and similar agencies lack capacity to buy and store maize at the right time so that when drought hits food in reservoirs is distributed to starving Kenyans.

Post-harvest wastage is also a major problem for farmers who grow avocado, mangos, bananas cabbages and other perishable goods. With proper strategies, perishables can be stored for use in case of famine. With proper storage facilities farmers can produce, sell and make financial savings which they can use during food shortage to buy necessary supplies.

The government should also train farmers new methods of storing dry food such as maize, sorghum and rice. With advancement in technology for food chain supply and storage, much so that food can be transported from Mexico to Kenya in edible form with its natural nutrients, it should be possible for farmers to have cheap technology to store their harvest. An example of this is the NPCB maize storage facility in Matunda, Kitale.

In theory, it is possible for farmers to construct smaller granaries in which the food crop harvests can be stored for at least a year within which a new harvest would be ready. The government should then buy any stored food that was not used so the farmers can refill granaries. This way, when hunger strikes, farmers in one part of the country can supply other parts of the country in need of food.

However, it would also be important to create mechanisms of transporting available food. Even as we cry hunger for people in arid and semi arid areas, there is food rotting elsewhere in the country because it cannot be easily and cheaply delivered from where it is available.

It is a shame that people can die in a country with plenty to offer.

The writer is a Communication Officer at Welthungerh Ufe ( For a world without Hunger) based in Nairobi

"Post-harvest losses is also a major problem bedevilling farmers