• Over 90 per cent of residents depend on either pastoralism or irrigation farming as a main source of livelihood.
• Farmers were struggling to recover from floods when desert locusts struck early this year.
Northeastern governors have been urged to establish a fund to cushion irrigation and livestock farmers against the effects of coronavirus.
Kenya Livestock Marketing Council chairman Dubat Amey said farmers in Wajir, Mandera and Garissa have faced disaster after another for the past eight months.
Speaking to the press in Garissa town on Thursday, Amey said, “From September to December last year, the region went through heavy flooding that destroyed crops and killed scores of livestock.”
He said as the farmers were struggling to recover when desert locusts struck early this year.
“Swarms swept through the region from Ethiopia and Somalia, where they had destroyed pasturelands that had flourished following the floods before settling along River Tana, where they have been breeding since,” Amey added.
The chairman said the three disasters were a huge blow to farmers.
More than 90 per cent of residents depend on pastoralism or irrigation farming as a main source of livelihood.
“Most of the farmers may not recover unless they are assisted to get back on their feet. The economic effects of coronavirus are evident. By the time the disease is managed our farmers will be out of business,” Amey said.
He warned residents against defying government directives aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19.
“I am pleading with the residents to take extra precautionary measures by adhering to guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health to avoid contracting and spreading the deadly virus. The disease is real. Defy the guidelines at your own peril.”
Edited by R.Wamochie