Food is rotting in farms in Kieni, Nyeri county due to poor roads. Rains have rendered some roads impassable making it difficult for farmers to transport the food to the market.
The farmers, who mainly grow onions, carrots, cabbages and snow peas, are counting losses amounting to millions of shillings. The farmers on Monday said vehicles cannot reach their farms as the trucks get stuck in the mud for days.
The most affected areas are Kiambogo and Kianjogu areas in Kieni West subcounty where farmers have bumper harvests. Robert Ndung’u said: “Our farms are very productive. The onions and cabbages are ready but we cannot access the market. They will now rot here in the farm. If all roads in the area can be improved, we can be millionaires if not hustlers".
Ndung’u said that transporting a 90kg bag of potatoes to the nearest market costs more than Sh500 using a donkey cart, which is very expensive as the farmer will only be left with less than Sh1,500 per bag.
The rains have also ruined some crops, which do not need rain during the harvesting season. Some cabbages that were planted on river banks have been washed away.
Dairy farmers have lamented that despite their cows producing a lot of milk, they cannot transport it to the market due to the poor roads. John Maina said the milk goes to waste.
Kieni MP Kanini Kega urged the county government to improve the roads. He said there is no tarmac road in Kieni except for the Nyeri-Nyahururu and Nyeri-Nanyuki highways.
