It is a shame that in the majority of the contemporary African states there are still severe cases of famine, unbearable sights of malnourished children and starving pregnant mothers.These challenges can only be linked to the poor planning of our governments and the leaders that head them, the greed and selfishness that they harbour that blinds them from seeing what in reality is happening right under their noses.The idea of begging is becoming overwhelmingly disgusting. Africa is a rich and very old continent that should be able to take care of itself, but how shall we prosper if we do not have enthusiastic leaders that are meant to help us but go into power for their own selfish reasons. Many of the African states still depend on non-governmental organisations and foreign aid for their survival. God forbid, but should the aid that is being provided be cut off, some leaders give us the impression that we wouldn’t survive for even a day.The problem is that depending a lot on foreign countries brings about interference in our economies and the more developed countries then automatically dictate what happens in the less developed countries.Anyway, leaders of many African countries need to strategise how they are going to be able to fight famine. As a result of climate change, people still have to wait for particular seasons to grow certain foods, and yet the foods are for export while the citizens starve.In the meantime the weather changes like no man’s business and anything can happen especially with the global warming that is affecting the entire world. For instance imagine the commotion and panic when it becomes abnormally dry in a month like November when rain is certainly expected. Believe me the farmers start to build a memory palace of problems and fear, and the little crops that the smart farmers might have stored away is what causes the prices to fluctuate in the economy.According to Mary Mbabazi, a farmer in Mbarara, famine hits at the most unexpected time and it is difficult to store different kinds of foods because she lacks the necessary facilities to do so. Poor storage facilities are one of the main causes of famine in society. It is possible and in fact very common to get surplus goods sometimes and to get less than what was initially expected but on both occasions when this happens it is a danger. Less than what was expected sets the farmers back and this increases prices for the foods available, since they are very few in the market.In the mean time over production is also a problem if storage of these foods is not available, it often goes to waste, so in both cases farmers face difficult challenges, if the planning is poor.Africa being made of mainly developing countries, not many of the people that live in this continent can afford the food that has unstable prices. Therefore, when the prices go up many members of various homesteads shall go to bed without a meal. Before you know it, famine has attacked.At this point, African leaders should have learnt that it has become a global community and we cannot depend on the climate anymore, since the crops that are being produced are not only being consumed by the local population but are also being exported to foreign countries.Now that food crops are being exported to other countries, maybe it is time that farmers started being sensitized on how to store or preserve foods for a long time and learn other methods of farming.Farmers should be provided for in all areas, if the local population is going to afford a meal. Failure to do this, the food that is being produced shall continue to be exported and the locals shall continue to starve. The interest of the farmer is to sell and why not to the highest bidder.There are few things that the governments can do to help prevent ruthless famine in the African states.What happened in Kenya should be a lesson for other African states. Our governments should encourage farmers to create groups where they can be sensitized about the agriculture and storage facilities.Furthermore, irrigation schemes should be set up in affected areas and farmers should be encouraged to grow crops in favourable soils that shall support the type of crop growing there hence better production.The governments can help better the famine issue by improving the infrastructure and providing loans to the farmers, which would encourage more production.The people responsible for our lives should not first wait for millions of people to starve to death for them to understand that it is a severe case that needs immediate attention.
