- Farmers whose crops and livestock were destroyed by floods have been dealt a blow after the government ruled out any plans to compensate the victims
- Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi has said his Ministry has no budget for compensating farmers who suffered losses in the floods.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
Farmers whose crops and livestock were destroyed by floods have been dealt a blow after the government ruled out any plans to compensate victims.
“The Government has no budgetary allocation for compensation of farmers affected by floods,” Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi said.
He made the disclosure in a written response to the Senate following a query by Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana on the government’s plans to compensate farmers.
The CS was scheduled to appear before the Senate plenary to respond to questions but instead, sent written responses.
In Tana River alone, 10, 864 acres of land under crops were destroyed. The crops, which are grown under irrigation schemes, are valued at Sh734.40 million.
They include Bura, Tana, Vumbwe Minor, Hola and Tarda Irrigation Schemes. The schemes mainly grow mangoes, coconuts, cashew nuts, bananas, maize, rice, tomatoes and watermelon.
“Due to the floods, farmers incurred losses resulting from the damaged crops,” Linturi said.
Livestock valued at Sh7.82 million were also destroyed.
This comes days after Agriculture CS Paul Ronoh hinted at the government’s plans to compensate the farmers.
Ronoh had said the government was collecting the data on the affected farmers to assist them.
“We will ensure we help farmers access seeds, fertiliser and also drain water from farms. Nearly 60,000 farms have been washed away. Last week the Kenya Seed Company made a huge loss after its farms were washed off,” Rono said.
The PS made the remarks during the distribution of 5,000 avocado seedlings to farmers in Chepsir in Kipkelion East Constituency, Kericho County on Sunday.
Farmers across the country have been pushing for compensation in the wake of the destruction by raging floods.
“The farmers along the River are in a state of despair, they have lost everything. The farms have been washed, the destruction is very devastating term intervention,” Kenya National Farmers Federations Chairman, Dubat Ali Amey had said.
A statement released by the government spokesman Isaac Mwaura on Tuesday showed that more than 168,000 acres of farmland have been destroyed by floods.
“The damage on agriculture spans 168,092 acres of land with approximately 8,722 livestock reported dead,” Mwaura said.
He added that the government has enhanced surveillance for vector-borne diseases in all counties.
Mwaura added that some 1.2 million livestock have been vaccinated against the Rift Valley Fever and an additional 450 sheep vaccinated against the blue tongue disease.
The heavy rainfall, which has caused mass destruction in the country also led to loss of lives and displacement of people.
Some 289 people had lost their lives as at Tuesday.
Tana River, Garissa, and Lamu are among the most affected counties as a result of the Tana Delta flooding due to heavy rains received in the Central region.