Rice farmers in Kisumu County are grappling with significant losses estimated at Sh302 million after devastating floods swept through their farms threatening the region’s food security.
Over 4,100 farming communities from key rice-growing areas like Nyando and Kadibo Sub-Counties were worst hit by the relentless floods that have submerged approximately 800 acres of rice plantations.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Kenneth Onyango described the recent floods in Kisumu’s lowland areas as unprecedented, causing substantial crop loss, especially to the rice growers who have borne the brunt of the devastation.
Kabonyo Kanyagwal Ward was the hardest hit, with approximately 1,500 farming households losing 90% of their crops, valued at Sh150 million. In Ahero Ward, around 2,000 farmers suffered total crop losses, estimated at Sh120 million. Meanwhile, in Nyalenda B Ward, farms belonging to about 600 farmers were completely submerged posing losses amounting to Sh32 million.
Additionally, 1,010 households across 11 wards suffered losses amounting to Sh12.8 million after their diverse food crops, including vegetables, sorghum, cowpeas, maize, cassava, beans, potatoes, and green grams, were destroyed.
“This year’s floods have been devastating, with farms being submerged and massive crops being washed away due to backflow from Lake Victoria and River Nyando bursting its banks,” Onyango stated during an interview with KNA.
The CECM noted that despite the severe flooding in the region, farmers on higher-ground areas did not experience the same level of crop destruction.
“The County Government is currently implementing several innovative measures to help farmers recover and build resilience against future disasters,” Onyango stated.
He noted that the County Government is providing subsidized farm inputs through the E-Voucher system to support farmers affected by the disaster. This system, he says, aims to enhance productivity by making essential farming inputs more affordable.
“We have developed an E-voucher system to subsidize farm inputs through selected agro-dealers. For example, we have an MOU with One Acre Fund and other well-established agro-dealers to ensure farmers can obtain farm inputs at a subsidized cost through this system,” he stated, adding, “We are confident that the initiative will contribute to the up-scaling of agricultural production activities within the county.”
Notably, another MOU between NCBA Bank and the Lakeside County will see the bank finance farming activities on behalf of the farmers, especially in rice-growing areas.
“The Department of Agriculture, along with its partners, has devised a model whereby farmers access funds from the bank to finance specific farming needs, such as hiring equipment. The funds are not credited to farmers’ accounts, instead, the bank directly pays the suppliers and it will then recoup the dispensed funds once the farmers harvest theircrop,” the CECM explained.
Onyango observed that the initiative would provide financial flexibility to the rice farmers.
At the same time, he highlighted that the County has initiated plans to introduce an insurance policy to cover farmers against losses caused by natural disasters. This measure aims to enable farmers to recover more swiftly with reduced financial burden.
By Robert Ojwang’ and Stanely Kayaga
