4,000 Igembe North residents face hunger
Igembe North MP Maoka Maore distributes relief food to residents of Nailukio village, Mutuati sub county on June 25, 2022. Some 4,000 people in the region are facing hunger due to rain failure.
More than 4,000 families in Igembe North, Meru County, are facing hunger following a prolonged drought in the region bordering the semi-arid Isiolo County.
Area MP Maoka Maore said the region had a 160km strip that had not received rains for three seasons and that most residents in the northern grazing belt were affected by hunger.
The MP said the national government would build a Sh19 billion dam to help irrigate the semi-arid region mainly inhabited by subsistence farmers.
The water will be pumped from Kibirichia, near Mt Kenya, and stored in three tanks in Mariri, Kithetu and Tiri.
The National Assembly deputy majority whip spoke when he distributed relief food to residents at the Kiolo police post in Mutuati sub-county.
The tanks will enhance distribution in villages to reach the targeted 539,000 people in the constituency.
Mr Maore said a feasibility study had been done and the government was looking for a contractor to begin the project.
“The President had assured me that when the proposal is ready, he will release money for the project. Now that the feasibility study is complete, my work is to ensure that it is advertised,” he said.
Mr Maore said the constituency does not have a single river and that most residents depend on boreholes and water vendors.
“We have arable fertile land but the harvests are not guaranteed due to unreliable rainfalls. We do not have a single river and water is a big problem. If we got the dam, this region would be a major food basket,” he said.
During the four-day distribution of relief food, affected families received rice and beans donated by the national government.
