Farmers in Narok County are lamenting over excess produce rotting on their farms even as over 4.3 million Kenyans starve due to the ravaging effects of drought.
The area close to the Mau forest has received abundant rainfall that guaranteed a bumper harvest, which has become an eyesore.
However, due to the bad roads, the farmers are feeding the excess produce to the livestock, because they cannot access markets.”We hear people are dying of hunger and we are willing to give them for free. No one should die due to hunger when our food rots on the farm,” Peter Sankale a farmer in Narok stated.
“These are rotting in the farm due to lack of better roads. We have no place to take the excess so we feed them to the livestock,” another farmer added.
They called upon the government to help in the construction of a 4.2-kilometer road to ease transportation.
“Cars cannot access the roads, there have been rampant accidents here. Soon we fear that the trucks will stop coming to this area,” Geoffrey Mathai of the residents lamented.
“I am very depressed because of the situation in other parts of the country. I pray that God will remember those without food,” Eunice Nyambura another farmer in the area stated.
In Nyandarua county one of the largest producers in Kenya, farmers faced the same challenge, excess food rotting on the farm. The farmers were forced to sell the produce at throwaway prices to at least make ends meet.
“When we hear people go without food for days, we are dismayed. The government can easily bring trucks that can ferry loads of food to them. We understand that the economy is at an all-time high,” stated Rueben Kibwana, a farmer in Nyandarua.
Notably, the government announced it has set aside Ksh4.9 billion to mitigate the effects of the drought. Led by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, the state is actively distributing relief food in several parts of the country.
Speaking on Saturday, November 5, Gachagua appealed to the international community to help raise Ksh16 billion in eight weeks to curb the effects of drought.
“For the next two weeks we have enough food but afterward we need help. The government has a budget, of Ksh4.9 billion and we require Ksh2 billion every week for the next eight weeks we need Ksh16 billion. We therefore today make an international appeal to our friends to come to the aid of Kenyans so that together we can marshall resources up to Ksh16 billion,” Rigathi pleaded.
Kenyan President, William Ruto, also urged Kenyans to plant trees to reduce the effects of climate change, targeting 10 billion trees in the next 10 years.
