Kenya's food stocks to run out in April

Kenya

The failure of El Nino rains expected at the beginning of September, has spawned fears of poor harvests that will not meet demand after March.

As a result of the insufficient February to August 2009 long rains, humanitarian agencies have forecast a 2010 main maize harvest of 1.9 million metric tonnes, about 25 per cent below the four-year average.

The Usaid-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) that prepared the report says that the main harvest, which typically occurs between October 2009 and January 2010, constitutes more than 50 per cent of Kenya