afrol News, 9 January - The government of Kenya is rolling out emergency plans to avert hunger to almost half of the country's popullation due to food shortages as a result of drought.

President Mwai Kibaki announced today that some 10 million Kenyans were in urgent need of food, urging his cabinet to urgently start working out strategies and mapping a national emergency plan.

Kenya had already sanctioned importation of 5 million bags of Maize duty free to meet the country's deficit while also rolling out a government supported programme to boost production for the next cropping season, which include subsidised inputs to farmers.

The government is also planning to distribute food to the most affected regions of the country, adding to efforts already undertaken by humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Programme.

Kenya is still recovering from the post 2007 election violence which left over a thousand people dead, while the country was one of the first to be hit by riots as a result of hikes in food prices last year.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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