Additional 7,027 households from three Wards in Isiolo County are set to receive Sh5,400 each for three years.
According to a survey which was recently carried out by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the new families critically need urgent relief food support owing to a prolonged drought.
The just concluded survey on ‘hunger safety net programme’, indicates that the new families should be enrolled on the cash transfer plan since the number of the needy cases increased by the day.
The NDMA’s Information Officer, Mr. Francis Murithi said that 2, 500 households are set to start benefiting from the first phase of the three-year programme in three months.
Addressing the County Steering Group (CSG) meeting chaired by the County Chief Officer for Planning, Mr. Patrick Lenawasae, Mr. Murithi said that the first phase would start in Oldonyiro, Charri, Cherab and Sericho Wards which are badly affected by the drought.
He said that every location would have validated committees, which would be chaired by local chiefs and religious leaders with a view to identifying the needy people in their respective areas.
Murithi further said that 20,600 households are currently on cash transfer programs in spite of over 130,000 relief food deserving cases in the county.
He added that national government and development partners had already chipped in with cash transfer plans, water trucking and donation of animal feeds for the last 18 months.
He said water trucking had stopped in Merti Sub-County and plans by the County government to extend water piping from Korbesa to Malkagala would reduce the burden for the government once finalized.
The County Drought Information Officer revealed that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) would distribute 4,500 bags of animal feed in Oldonyiro, Chari and Garbatulla Wards where large herds are suffering.
He said that the organization was also planning to offer animal health services to over 10,000 heads of cattle in the three Wards.
The Sustainable Production and Agro-Ecological Models in Kenya (SAMPAK) County Project Coordinator Mr. Hosea Kandagor said that his organization would provide 16,800 tree seedlings to farmers in Ngaremara, Oldonyiro and Burat so as to improve the forest cover in the area.
He said that the project had stopped its program following fights between the local people and the herders from the neighbouring counties after disagreeing on how to share water and pasture in Daaba in Ngaremara.
Mr. Kandagor said that climate change had also unfavorably affected the area since locals and herders from other counties had been eyeing the existing plenty of fodder and water in the central region of the county.
He said that the program would start soon and appealed to stakeholders to join them to make Isiolo a city in the desert as envisaged in the vision 2030 development plan.
By Abduba Mamo
