- Farmers in Naivasha have said immature crops are rotting in the farms, hence the shortage
- Over 30 per cent of fresh produce consumed in Nairobi and Mombasa comes from the area with kale, onions, spinach and cabbage being the hardest hit
Image: George Murage
Consumers have been warned to brace for a shortage and a sharp rise in prices of fresh produce, due to destruction caused by the ongoing rains.
Farmers from the agriculture-rich area of Kinungi in Naivasha have said immature crops are rotting in the farms, hence the projected shortage.
Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja said heavy rains currently pounding the area have destroyed farm produce worth millions of shillings.
“This region serves Nairobi and the Coast in terms of fresh produce supply and with the destruction of the crops, consumers should brace for a shortage and higher prices,” he said.
Over 30 per cent of fresh produce consumed in Nairobi and Mombasa comes from the area with kale, onions, spinach and cabbage being the hardest hit.
The rains coupled with flash floods from neighbouring county of Nyandarua had left a trail of destruction and impoverished farmers.
Karanja called on farmers to be vigilant and drain dams whose water levels had surpassed the set levels, to avoid tragedies as was the case in Mai Mahiu three weeks ago.
Speaking after distributing bursary cheques to Form One students, he said many parents who relied on farm produce could not afford school fees.
“We support the one man-one shilling-one vote initiative as it will increase bursary allocation to constituencies as currently we are offering a bursary of Sh2,000 which is inadequate,” he said.
Zipporah Nyambura, a farmer, said they were counting losses running into thousands of shillings.
“Many of us cannot not afford to pay school fees due to the losses incurred by the rains and we are calling on the county government to increase budgetary allocation.”
James Kabono, a local leader from the area, said apart from the farms, the road system had been wiped out and there were fears that some of the dams could burst in the coming days.
This was echoed by Michael Njoroma, who called for more support to the students following the damage caused on the farm produce.
“The price of fresh produce will shoot-up in the coming days due to rise in demand against low production which has been occasioned by the rains,” Pastor Peter Thungu said.
Last week, farmers in Kinangop, Nyandarua county said due to rains, certified potato seeds on the farms were rotting.
Potatoes that were to be harvested next month were wiped out as nearly all the farms flooded.