Small-scale farmers from Garissa are now calling on the government to find a permanent solution to the perennial floods that always lead to death and crop destruction every rainy season.
Over 10,000 people spread along Balambala, Garissa and Fafi subcounties along River Tana have been incurring losses amounting to millions following spillage from KenGen’s dams which find way to River Tana.
Crops, some of which are ready for harvest, are always destroyed and water pumps and pipes to their farm beds are swept away. It also becomes difficult to access the farms to retrieve the little left behind due to the poor roads.
Some of the fruits and vegetables planted by the farmers are mangoes, bananas, water melons and lemons, skuma wiki, spinach as well as tomatoes and onions.
The farmers were speaking to the press at their farms in Maramtu, Garissa during a meeting with ODM nominated MP Umulkheir Harun who had visited the farms to see the aftermath of the floods and the challenges being encountered.
Hassan Yussuf a farmer at Maramtu and an official at the Garissa farmers network said for the last five years they have been incurring loses running into millions of shillings.
“What we are currently witnessing is something we never saw before. Previously, overflow from the dams would be released every four to five years. However, over the last few years it has been happening more often leading to flooding two times a year — in December and in mid-April and May— this makes us very worried because we don’t know when to plant, we also don’t know if what we plant will be harvested. It is a very big challenge for us,” he said.
He said many small-scale farmers who had ventured into the practice have since given up after years of loses, something he said does not sit well with the country’s quest to improve food security and reduce poverty.
Mariam Gedi, another farmer, wondered why the government keeps on encouraging pastoralists to diversify and venture into substance farming yet it was doing little to address the current situation of floods that is only discouraging potential farmers.
“Majority of the farmers are yet to regain from the losses, they still need to be supported to rebuild their livelihoods. Others never returned to actively farm fearing the floods could cause similar destruction,” she said.
Kaltuma Hassan, 55, and a mother of seven said she has farmed all her life, but regretted that she was slowly loosing interest due to constant losses occasioned by the flooding.
“Surely if we have a government in place then it needs to come to our rescue. How can we be crying year in year out and yet the government is turning a deaf year as if nothing has happened. Some of us depend on the proceeds we get from these farms to bring up our families. They are our only source of livelihood that we know,” she said.
The ODM nominated MP expressed her frustrations at KenGen’s actions and their failure to adequately address the water overflow issue and come up with permanent solutions.
Umulkheir who met members of the Garissa farmers network regretted that the floods have been a constant headache for the farmers saying it was heartbreaking to see them incur looses amounting to millions every year.
“Farming comes at a cost. Every activity that happens in the farm from farm preparation, buying the seedlings, organising for fertilisers, the labour all cost money and to see it go down the drain is really heartbreaking,” she said.
She added, “I have constantly in Parliament asked for feedback from KenGen like having organised schedules, but nowadays what they do is release an announcement a day to ask the people to vacate. Surely this is practically impossible because the motors and engines in the farms are running. The farmers have their fruits ready for harvest, she said.
She promised to continue fighting for the farmers saying their cries will not go unheard.
“I want to assure our farmers that theirs issues will find their way on the floor of the house, we will summon top officials of KenGen as well as the responsible ministry and to find a permanent solution whether it is compensating the farmers or having a dam where the excess water can be directed to,” she added.
