- The British Broadcasting Corporation reports that East
Africa's prolonged drought -- only recently broken by rain -- has
dried up rivers in Tanzania and left some 3.7m Masaai cattleherders on
the verge of starvation as hydroelectric plants shut down due to water
shortages. Half of the Masaai herds have already died.
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- Especially the Maasai -- traditional cattle farmers with
huge, much-treasured herds who drink the blood of their cattle but not
their meat, and also cannot drink cow's milk -- have been particularly
badly affected. Forced to leave their villages, many walked up to
30km a day in search of water for themselves and their beloved livestock.
Weak and sick cattle have been dying because there has not been enough
food and water. The marxist-run Tanzanian government has distributed
about 15,000 tons of subsidised maize to the most vulnerable through UN-feeding
schemes at schools.
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- Tanzanian subsistence-farmers have also lost all their
seed supplies because of this year's failed harvest. Deforestation has
led to large-scale erosion and semi-arid landscapes. There has been recent
rainfall, the BBC reports -- however these rains have swept away fertile
upper layers of soil, leaving farmers fearing not only for this year's
crops but also for many harvests to come.
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- Link to above story
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/0
6/africa_tanzania0s_food_fears/html/1.stm
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