Farmers in Longonot Ward, Naivasha Constituency in Nakuru County have continued to air their plight over lack of quality planting seeds as the rains continue to fall.
The farmers, who have in the past seven months been coping with the biting hunger, have appealed to the government through the ministry of agriculture, to avail to them quality seeds to curb the persistent food shortage that has hit them for years.
The plight, which is uniform in every farmer who got their pleas aired, revealed that the poor soils and inadequate rains in the area, which lies in the arid region of Naivasha requires seeds with faster maturity.
“I have planted three consecutive seasons but the crops have failed before maturity. It is the same case with almost everyone here. The rains do not last long and the soil here dries up much faster,” said Purity Wangari, a farmer.
“We therefore call for the ministry of agriculture to assist us with cheap maize seeds that will cope with the weather here,” added Wangari.
They also lamented of the habitual destruction of their crops by rogue wild animals from the nearby Longonot national park.
According to the farmers, this has caused some of the farmers with large tracts of land to cease planting and instead use their land for cattle rearing, causing food shortage in the area.
The residents say they have on several occasions expressed their grievances to the area KWS branch, including holding demonstrations but little has been done.
“For more than fifteen years, we have tried to push for a fence to be put up around the park to keep these animals away but our efforts have been fruitless,” said Peter Migwi, a subsistence farmer.
“When crops are near maturity, we have to keep vigil all night round to scare away these animals. We need the government to act on it,” added Migwi.
They have called upon the relevant bodies to act upon the matter, to provide a solid solution to food shortage that has hit the area over years.