A farmer came to our office to explain that he was forced to come to see relatives to find out how he could get a bag of rice from them since nothing is at home to feed the family. He said the relatives told him that he has
A farmer came to our office to explain that he was forced to come to see relatives to find out how he could get a bag of rice from them since nothing is at home to feed the family. He said the relatives told him that he has to wait until Ramadan to come back to receive what they would be able to give. He had to beg to get fares to go back. This has become the trend.
It is common for people to stop and walk towards a passer-by or a waiting vehicle and beg for fares or money to purchase meals.
There is need to do a food audit to find out how many farmers cannot afford even one meal a day not to mention three meals a day. Poverty in the rural area could not be measured in terms of how many dollars one earns in a day. It is measured in the countryside on the basis of the number of meals one could afford in a day.
Any government which is serious about food security must prepare food stock returns for each village to be filled by village heads to indicate the level of food stock available. Without such a mechanism claims of food security would be mere speculation.