The larger Nakuru County which is among the high-producing maize areas is anticipating a poor harvest of the staple food crop this year.
The county director for agriculture, Fredrick Owino, said a number of farmers have already started cutting the stunted maize to feed their cows since the recent frost and prolonged drought have left no hope of any meaningful harvest.
However, speaking to KNA yesterday, Owino said the farmers who had planted beans as a standalone crop have harvested a good amount and the demand was quite high.
A farmer from Ngata, Jane Sagwe said the loss was too much for her since she spent a lot of money to plant her four acres of maize which has been affected by the frost and drought.
The county Chairman of the Kenya National Association of Farmers’ Association, Lukas Kessei, appealed to the new government to consider re-introducing the Minimum Guaranteed Returns (MGR).
This is to cushion farmers against climate change that has the capacity of destroying an entire crop.
Currently, a two kilogram of dry maize sells in the local market at sh.200, which a number of families are unlikely to afford daily, due to the economic recession in the country caused by Covid-19 pandemic and continued drought for the last three years.
By Veronica Bosibori
