|
415 tonnes needed to avert Lindi region from starvation
2008-01-25 08:48:21
By Gadiosa Lamtey
A total of 415 tonnes of cereals are needed to feed hundreds of starving families in Lindi District, Lindi Regional Commissioner said Said Meki Sadiq has said.
Sadiq told The Guardian in an exclusive interview yesterday that Nachingwea, Liwale and Kilwa districts were most affected by the famine.
The RC said food shortage was caused by rodents that have been destroying cassava roots and stapple food for many Lindi people.
He said poor infrastructure is another factor causing food shortage because it made it hard to distribute the required food to villages hit by hunger.
Sadiq said the government was working to ensure people don't starve by distributing food to areas in need.
Recent reports indicated that hundreds of families in the three districts had literally nothing to eat and have become weak, surviving on roots of wild plants
Villages hit by hunger are Namirui, Kipelele, Nahoro and Ngumbu.
Others within Liwale district are Ndapata, Naujombo and Kipelele.
Those in Kilwa District are Narung'ombe, Mtopera, Kisangi and Ngea while in Nachingwea District are Nditi, Nahimba and Mkotokuyana.
Wild roots which villagers live on are locally known as `angandi`, `vitoe` and `ming`oko`.
When contacted, Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Stephen Wassira said he was not aware that there was food shortage in some parts of Lindi.
``There is no possibility that three districts can go without food. I am not aware of the situation as I just heard from you. However, I am waiting for reports from our representatives in Lindi,`` said Wassira.
The government last week said the country's food situation was stable and national reserves had enough food to feed people in case of unexpected shortages.
Wasira was quoted as saying that until January 2, this year, the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) had a total of 134,924 tonnes of maize and 7,214 tonnes of millet, enough to dispel fears of food shortages in the near future.
The minister said that estimates on food production by December 2007 showed that food production for this year would be 10.66 million tonnes, out of which about 5.85 million tonnes would be for cash crops and 5.17 million tonnes food crops.
He said the country`s food demand for the year 2007/08 was estimated at 10.9 per cent of the total production.
|
