Kenya: Political unrest sparks food insecurity, livelihood losses
Most of the people who fled political violence in Kenya's Rift Valley Province, the country's breadbasket, are farmers and their displacement during harvest season is expected to undermine national food security, humanitarian officials said.
Agencies warn of a drop in food production after election violence displaced thousands of Kenyan farmers. (Image: IRIN)
According to Augusta Abate, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) assistant representative for Kenya, 75 percent of the estimated 300,000 people displaced from the Rift Valley have become destitute.
"They have lost their tools, livestock, seed and fertilizer," she told IRIN, adding that the unrest erupted at a time when farmers in the region would be harvesting and preparing the land for planting before the long rains in March and April. FAO has sent teams to the affected areas to assess the extent of the problem as the agency prepares to assist the farmers once calm is restored, she added.
