Government should act now to stop looming climate crisis at the Coast

 

Some of the plastics dumped in the ocean. [File, Standard]

 

One of the advantages of doing a national campaign is that you get to fly over large parts of the country.

Last week I accompanied our former Prime Minister and presidential aspirant Raila Odinga as we traversed the entire coastal region, flying over Tana River district, Kilifi, Kwale, and parts of Mombasa.

It is a humbling experience as you see the real Kenya unfold and you meet so many 'different' Kenyans that you begin to appreciate the diversity of our country. You also begin to see the daunting challenges facing our leaders.

The country is still very dry. The recent rains have brought some glimmer of hope to farmers but on the ground, the farmers are nervous because they remember last year when the rains came but did not last as expected. The maize grew but died before the maize cobs had matured.

The crop was wasted and hunger hit the counties. Farmers are trying to scratch a living – literally. As you fly across the counties, you see small subsistence farmers trying to plow their small farms in the dry parched land. It looks like a hopeless case.

Rain patterns across the country indicate that year by year, the level of rains is decreasing. This will only get worse. Rainfall has decreased by more than 50 per cent over the last 20 years. Occasionally, we see floods in dry areas and it's painful to see the effects.

Last year, the government had to distribute food in Kilifi to avert starvation deaths. My guess is that this year it will have to do the same and prepare to make this a constant exercise unless decisive long-term action is taken.

What went wrong? First, we have seen climate change across the world but we made things worse for ourselves. As a youth traveling by bus to Lamu, I remember thousands of mango and cashew nut trees.

Today, all you see are former plantations and trees that were abandoned over the years. Why did the cashew nut trees disappear? Because the only cashew nut factory closed shop many years ago and the cash crop died in Kenya.  

Meanwhile, international prices kept going up! What is wrong with us Kenyans? In the absence of buyers, the farmers cut the trees and made them into charcoal. When the trees died, the land died and the rains disappeared. It’s a sad cycle.

If Kilifi politicians don’t start looking forward 10 years and planning from now, then in 10 years they will be feeding the entire county and most of their budgets will end up in famine relief and dealing with undernourished children. It is time that they start an aggressive campaign to plant trees and identify new water sources, build dams and preserve as much water as they can during the rainy seasons.

They must encourage the farmers by attracting investors who will build factories to buy and process cashew nuts, mangoes, and coconuts. They must create economic incentives to encourage the farmers, it is time to encourage our children to plant and adopt a tree.

I was flying with my friend, Gideon Mungaro who is aspiring to be the Governor of Kilifi and I advised him to fly to Israel and learn how to turn deserts into farms. Otherwise, they will be subjecting their people to hunger and poverty. History will judge them harshly.