Maize farmers in Maseno have raised an alarm due to the increasing theft cases of their farm produce.
According to the farmers, they may end up harvesting nothing considering that the maize is stolen while still in the farm.
Quite anumber of them have claimed to have been affected by the theft since the beginning of the month.
“The maize is almost ready for harvesting and we risk failing to enjoy the fruit of our labour due to the thieves,” said Margaret Akinyi, a framer from Maseno.
Such incidences have been reported during the previous seasons but the scale was much smaller compared to this year. The maize are said to be mostly stolen at nights by plucking off the cobs and this has been attributed to lack of fences around the farms.
The farmers who are mostly small scale are calling on the relevant authorities from the area to speed up investigations and bring the issue to an end.
Speaking to this writer on Tuesday,the area chief Nicholas Toro said the issue is already under investigation adding that the culprits will soon be brought to book
“We have received reports of people stealing maize from farms and we are committed to ensuring that the vice is stopped with immediate effect,” said chief Toro.
The chief condemned the act terming it as inhuman for one to steal from peasant farmers. He estimated the number of the affected persons to be about 20.