Brace for poor rains starting October, farmers told

Farmers in Nyeri have been told to prepare for another poor season as a result of low rains expected to commence in October.

The Meteorological Services Department in its August 8 report has painted a bleak picture across the country showing the nation could be staring at another season of failed rains.

According to the weatherman, the climate outlook for the October-November-December short rains season indicates that most parts of the country were likely to experience depressed rainfall.

Highlands east of the Rift Valley counties (including Nairobi), Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang'a, Kiambu, Meru, Embu, Tharaka Nithi and Nairobi were likely to experience occasional rainfall during the season.

Overall rainfall amounts are expected to be lower than the season's long-term average.

Nyeri county director of Meteorological Services Meshack Kainga has advised farmers to address the expected low precipitation by planting drought-resistant and fast maturing crop varieties such as sweet potatoes and cassava.

He has also warned farmers against rushing to plant following the rains currently being experienced in the county since Monday.

“We are staring at another disappointing season where the much-anticipated short rains are expected to be below average," Kainga said. 

"Consequently, farmers should cushion themselves from experiencing a total crop loss by planting fast maturing crops during this season to ensure they reap optimum benefits from the rains.”

The expected depressed rains coming on the heels of failed long rains will complicate matters for the already worsening food crisis that is currently gripping many parts of the country and piling pressure on Kenyans who are grappling with soaring inflation rates.

“The expected late onsets, poor distribution and reduced amounts of rainfall is likely to negatively affect agricultural production," the weatherman report reads in part.

The report says this would likely lead to "poor yields of crop, livestock and fisheries especially in the Arid and Semiarid Lands areas in the Northern and Eastern parts, particularly in the Eastern sector where reliance on the “'short rains' is high."

"Thus, food prices are expected to rise and accessibility to staple food is also expected to be poor. This will in turn lead to an increase in food deficits in these areas.” 

Consequently, the Ministry of Agriculture has been urged to advise on appropriate technologies, innovations and management practices to farmers as a mitigation measure against total crop and animal loss during the coming months.

There is a likelihood of an increase in crop pests such as fall armyworms and livestock diseases as they migrate in search of water and pasture.

In April this year, the Meteorological Services Department advised farmers in the county to continue preparing their farms for planting even as the country stared at a possibility of delayed long rains.

A month earlier the weatherman said that long rains would start towards the end of March and and advised farmers to prepare their lands for the planting season.

The weather report also said the long rains for this year were expected to run from mid-March to May.

According to the report, Nyeri, which lies within the Highlands west of Rift Valley, was expected to receive enhanced rainfall of between 401 millilitres and 500 millilitres.

Other counties that fall in this region are Nyandarua, Laikipia, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Meru, Embu, Tharaka and Nairobi.

But an assessment of the rainfall recorded from March 1 to May 31 indicates that the rainfall performance was depressed over the country.

The distribution, both in time and space, was also generally poor over most parts of the country.

In April and May 2022, most parts of the country received near to below average rainfall, except Wajir and Nakuru that recorded above average rainfall in May.

Traditionally, the long rains fall between mid-March to late May before paving way for the chilly June and July cold season.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, three consecutive failed rainy seasons in the ASAL region of Kenya have exhausted families’ coping capacities and left close to three million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

By late last year, some areas of coastal and south-eastern Kenya reported their worst rainfall performance since 1981.

The worsening drought has significantly hindered crop production and led to loss of livestock, leaving nearly 2.4 million people in the ASAL region struggling to put food on their table.

This includes around 368,000 people in emergency levels of hunger and more than 523,000 children under the age five in urgent need of treatment for acute malnutrition.

Water sources for both people and livestock are also said to have dried up, forcing families to trek for longer distances, causing tensions among communities and threatening a spill out of increased inter-communal conflict.

(edited by Amol Awuor)