Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The World Food Programme said it needs to raise $230 million to provide food aid to 3.8 million people in Kenya facing hunger.

“We face a huge challenge and are urging the international community to provide us with the resources we need to get the job done,” Burkard Oberle, the agency’s country director, said in a statement handed to reporters today in the capital, Nairobi. “People are already going hungry.”

Yesterday, Kenyan Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said as many as 10 million Kenyans are at risk of “severe hunger.” The government has allocated 9 billion shillings ($118 million) for imports of food aid, he said.

Drought has reduced crop output, lowered hydroelectricity production that led to power cuts, and caused widespread water shortages in Kenya, a nation of 39 million people. Corn production may fall 65 percent below consumption this year, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said on Aug. 12.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 25, 2009 07:55 EDT