Hunger could kill more in Kenya than Covid-19, say lobbies

By Agatha Ngotho, NAIROBI Kenya

Food security lobby groups in Kenya have warned that people will die of hunger before they get infected by Covid-19 now that they are out of work due to the pandemic.

Hunger stricken residents of Turkana pictured receiving relief food

In a report released on Tuesday, the groups said the pandemic has triggered the second biggest crisis in a decade and possibly the worst recession ever, whilst many countries have not yet recovered from the 2008 financial crisis.

“These are unprecedented times that will dramatically increase inequalities and have severe impacts on people in developing countries. The pandemic has hit hardest those who have no access to healthcare, who lack a social safety net to fall back on, who do not have rights to sick leave, are in precarious work conditions, have no access to land titles, and those with the greatest unpaid care responsibilities,” the report shows.

The groups include Trust Africa, CAADP Non-State Actors Coalition; a Pan- African coalition of non-state actor groups engaged at different stages of the agricultural value chain in Africa, the Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers Forum; a network of grassroots small scale farmers’ organisations working in 16 countries of Eastern and Southern Africa, and Oxfam Pan-Africa Programme.

The report on the impact of Covid-19 on small-scale farming, food security and sovereignty in Africa shows that farmers, many of whom are women, are among the most adversely impacted by the pandemic.

“Whilst being very vulnerable, small-scale farmers also show incredible resilience and supporting them is a key way to help meet the food needs of the people,” the report says.

The UN's World Food Programme has warned of famine ‘of biblical proportions’ due to Covid-19, which can lead to an increase in acutely food-insecure people to 265 million people. Already in 2019, 135 million people were reported as being acutely food-insecure.

The report further stated that within the East African Community and Southern African Development Community, the pandemic surfaced during the planting season and the ability of farmers to perform their work is impacted due to limited seed-sharing options and the lack of production inputs.

“Food security is of critical importance and must be elevated to support local production and value-chains to combat Covid-19 and hunger,” SADC executive director Glenn Farred said.

The Eastern and Southern Africa small-scale Farmers Forum called for sustained production within the borders.  

EAC spends about Sh190 million on the importation of wheat, rice and maize from outside the region, and about 130 million small-scale farmers comprise the majority of the population.

“If they are supported in strengthening their resilience and productivity, it will simultaneously alleviate foreign exchange spending and support their livelihoods,” the report says.

The report recommended that while the public health risks across Africa are acute, the response to Covid-19 must also ensure that livelihoods and the right to food are protected, given that millions of people have lost their livelihoods and economies are already failing.

“The economic implications of this pandemic may be more than just health-related if we do not protect smallholder farmers. Unfortunately, even though agriculture is a priority policy objective of the AU, most African nations have not delivered on the commitments made in the Malabo Declaration of investing at least 10 per cent of the national budget in the agriculture sector,” the report says. - The Star