Kenya food crisis

This item appears on page 20 of the March 2009 issue.

The president of Kenya declared a national disaster in January and requested aid for the nearly 10 million people facing acute food shortages. The drought, limited planting due to disrupted farming after the post-election turmoil, almost total crop failure and reduced herds are the causes.

The worst-affected regions are in the eastern, coastal and central provinces. Some areas in the Rift Valley and northeastern provinces have shortages as well.