The government comes out to reassure the public amid fear of hunger in drought ravaged areas
What you need to know:
A survey has been ordered in 55 affected councils to establish extent of the effects of drought and plan mitigation measures in an event of a food shortage crisis. Political leaders have piled pressure on authorities to declare an emergency while clergy led their faithful to pray for rain over the weekend.
GOV'T TAKE: The ministry of Agriculture’s acting assistant director, Crop Monitoring and Early Warning, Ms Marystella Mtalo, was quoted by the Daily News as affirming that the country had a surplus of 3 million tonnes of food. She said the pockets currently experiencing shortages was normal and not exceptional. She, however, admitted that the number of local councils facing food deficit has increased from 43 to 53 after the earthquake that hit Kagera Region last year.
