Nakuru has been identified as one of the counties that will face a maize shortage in the coming year due to poor rainfall coupled by the current cold weather.
This has been worsened by the fall-army-worm that has hit tens of farmers in parts of the county adversely affecting the produce that is the staple food for the majority of the area residents.
This came as farmers expressed their concern over the high number of unfortified seeds in the market which were affecting production.
The most affected regions are Subukia, Gilgil, Lanet, Ndondori, Naivasha and Mai Mahiu areas with farmers planting late due to the delayed rains.
According to John Kamanja, a senior officer from the Ministry of Agriculture, poor rain patterns were to blame for the current crisis.
Speaking during a field visit to various farms, the agriculture officer from Ndondori noted that many farmers planted late as they waited for the rains.
“There will be a maize shortage this season due to the harsh weather that has hit the country forcing tens of farmers to plant late,” he said.
Kamanja attributed the poor rains to deforestation adding that the lasting solution lay in planting more trees in the forests and catchment areas.
He at the same time advised farmers to uproot maize stalks that had been affected by fall-army-worm to avoid the pest from spreading to other produce in the farm.
“Maize production has also been affected by this worm and the only solution lies in uprooting the stalks and feeding them to livestock,” he advised.
A farmer Ann Wangui from Lanet admitted that they planted late due to the delayed rains unlike in the past seasons.
“This is one of the worst seasons for maize farmers as we planted late and just as our produce was maturing, the cold weather hit us,” she said.
Wangui warned that prices of maize flour would rise in the coming months as the current crisis would lead to a shortage of maize in the market.
“One of the biggest challenges currently facing us is unfortified seeds in the market and it’s time the ministry intervened as many farmers don’t know the certified ones,” she said.
This was echoed by another farmer Paul Kamau who called for the State to support the farmers with subsidized fertilizer so as to meet the high maize demand.
“Currently farm inputs are very expensive and coupled with the harsh weather the country could suffer from maize shortage in the coming months,” he said.