Mzee Mwanakijiji
Platinum Member
- Mar 10, 2006
- 33,476
- 39,995
Our record still stands; well ahead of the pack of inefficient, corrupt, self-serving, mediocre and absolutely incompetent leadership! over a year and a half later the government wakes up from its slumber and finds out their is indeed a food shortage! Sometimes i wish we had some kind of Chinese "Forced Responsibility Program"..a.k.a death penalty for failed leaders!
26th December 09
Food shortage alarming - govt
Angel Navuri
The Government yesterday warned that there is a serious cause for alarm, as hundreds of thousands of people in many parts of the country face serious food shortage and require emergency relief supplies.
Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives deputy minister David Mathayo renewed the alert during an interview with The Guardian. He spoke on telephone from Kilimanjaro to give latest position on the countrys food situation.
Northern regions, especially Kilimanjaro, according to the deputy minister, face a more serious situation because hundreds of thousands of people require immediate supply of 2,400 tonnes of emergency food supplies.
It is true that most areas in the northern regions are facing food shortages and the government has moved to send relief food. But the problem is more serious in that many of these areas didnt harvest anything this season because of the erratic rains, said Mathayo
He said his ministrys special team monitoring the food situation in various parts of the country was finalising a report which would be released next week, that would help his office dispatch supplies to the needy as soon as possible.
Mathayo said from now on the team would compile its reports on the food situation weekly for the ministry and other partners to intervene and send essential supplies to crisis areas.
Kilimanjaro regional agricultural adviser, Idda Mkamba, said mid this week that more than 350,000 people in the region are facing acute shortage of food and require about 2,400 tonnes of relief supplies to sustain them up to February next year.
She revealed this while briefing the members of the regional advisory committee on the food situation, which she generally said, was getting worse despite current government effort to provide 10,726 tonnes in relief food.
She said last seasons harvests were not enough to meet the regions food requirements for the current season, adding that there were at least 1,902,530 people in need of relief food.
Mkamba said at least 520,818 tonnes of carbohydrates and 52,082 tonnes of protein was required for the region in the 2009/2010 period while the harvests were only 259,789 tonnes of carbohydrate and 12,550 tonnes of protein.
She said the food situation analysis was done between February and July this year by a team of specialists from the Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives and the regional food secretariat.
The agricultural officer said so far a total of 10,726 tonnes of relief food had been distributed to the needy, and that 402.1m/- was used for transportation.
The situation had led to a hike in food prices. She added that the regional authorities were now educating people on the importance of saving food and on the proper use of the relief food available.
Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Monica Mbega said she has ordered directors to properly supervise the exercise, and called on the farmers to improve agriculture, so as to increase harvests in the coming season.Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Minister Stephen Wassira was recently quoted as saying that the food situation in 67 districts in the country was still critical.
He however cautioned that there was no cause for alarm because emergency supplies were being dispatched to the affected areas.
The minister said that additional efforts had been made to ensure that food relief reached the people currently facing serious shortage.
We (government) deployed officials from the Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives and other relevant offices in the districts to assess the situation on the ground together with district officials, the minister said.
He added: All areas that need immediate attention have been reached and as I speak now, 20,000 tonnes of grain have been transported to those places.
Commenting on the immediate demand for grain, Wassira said 56,000 tonnes of grain had been set aside for delivery to ensure that people in places with acute shortage were reached as soon as possible.
The majority of the districts facing serious food shortage are in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Tanga, Dodoma, Lindi, Mtwara and Singida regions among others where delivery is a matter of urgency.
In June this year, Mathayo told parliament that 61 districts were at risk of facing food shortage in 2009/10, according to the food evaluation survey conducted between May and June this year.
He said the government was set to purchase 165,000 tonnes of food, including 160,000 tonnes of maize and 5,000 tonnes of sorghum. From February to July this year, the government had already distributed relief food to almost 780,000 people in several areas.
Mathayo said the country produced a total of 5,265,309 tonnes of cereals in the 2008/9 season against the demand of 6,578,508 tonnes in 2009/10.
THE GUARDIAN
26th December 09
Food shortage alarming - govt
Angel Navuri
The Government yesterday warned that there is a serious cause for alarm, as hundreds of thousands of people in many parts of the country face serious food shortage and require emergency relief supplies.
Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives deputy minister David Mathayo renewed the alert during an interview with The Guardian. He spoke on telephone from Kilimanjaro to give latest position on the countrys food situation.
Northern regions, especially Kilimanjaro, according to the deputy minister, face a more serious situation because hundreds of thousands of people require immediate supply of 2,400 tonnes of emergency food supplies.
It is true that most areas in the northern regions are facing food shortages and the government has moved to send relief food. But the problem is more serious in that many of these areas didnt harvest anything this season because of the erratic rains, said Mathayo
He said his ministrys special team monitoring the food situation in various parts of the country was finalising a report which would be released next week, that would help his office dispatch supplies to the needy as soon as possible.
Mathayo said from now on the team would compile its reports on the food situation weekly for the ministry and other partners to intervene and send essential supplies to crisis areas.
Kilimanjaro regional agricultural adviser, Idda Mkamba, said mid this week that more than 350,000 people in the region are facing acute shortage of food and require about 2,400 tonnes of relief supplies to sustain them up to February next year.
She revealed this while briefing the members of the regional advisory committee on the food situation, which she generally said, was getting worse despite current government effort to provide 10,726 tonnes in relief food.
She said last seasons harvests were not enough to meet the regions food requirements for the current season, adding that there were at least 1,902,530 people in need of relief food.
Mkamba said at least 520,818 tonnes of carbohydrates and 52,082 tonnes of protein was required for the region in the 2009/2010 period while the harvests were only 259,789 tonnes of carbohydrate and 12,550 tonnes of protein.
She said the food situation analysis was done between February and July this year by a team of specialists from the Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives and the regional food secretariat.
The agricultural officer said so far a total of 10,726 tonnes of relief food had been distributed to the needy, and that 402.1m/- was used for transportation.
The situation had led to a hike in food prices. She added that the regional authorities were now educating people on the importance of saving food and on the proper use of the relief food available.
Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Monica Mbega said she has ordered directors to properly supervise the exercise, and called on the farmers to improve agriculture, so as to increase harvests in the coming season.Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Minister Stephen Wassira was recently quoted as saying that the food situation in 67 districts in the country was still critical.
He however cautioned that there was no cause for alarm because emergency supplies were being dispatched to the affected areas.
The minister said that additional efforts had been made to ensure that food relief reached the people currently facing serious shortage.
We (government) deployed officials from the Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives and other relevant offices in the districts to assess the situation on the ground together with district officials, the minister said.
He added: All areas that need immediate attention have been reached and as I speak now, 20,000 tonnes of grain have been transported to those places.
Commenting on the immediate demand for grain, Wassira said 56,000 tonnes of grain had been set aside for delivery to ensure that people in places with acute shortage were reached as soon as possible.
The majority of the districts facing serious food shortage are in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Tanga, Dodoma, Lindi, Mtwara and Singida regions among others where delivery is a matter of urgency.
In June this year, Mathayo told parliament that 61 districts were at risk of facing food shortage in 2009/10, according to the food evaluation survey conducted between May and June this year.
He said the government was set to purchase 165,000 tonnes of food, including 160,000 tonnes of maize and 5,000 tonnes of sorghum. From February to July this year, the government had already distributed relief food to almost 780,000 people in several areas.
Mathayo said the country produced a total of 5,265,309 tonnes of cereals in the 2008/9 season against the demand of 6,578,508 tonnes in 2009/10.
THE GUARDIAN
