In Ahero, Kisumu County, rice farmers are tallying their losses following floods that destroyed their rice paddies.
The flooding brought on by the Saturday river burst in the Nyando has impacted more than 800 acres of rice plantations, according to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA), which oversees the Ahero and West Kano irrigation schemes.
According to Kennedy Ouma, Manager of the NIA Scheme, the raging floodwaters have swept away every farm.
“We are assessing the damage, but the situation is very bad, farmers have recorded serious losses,” he says.
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Ouma reports that while assessments are being conducted to determine the extent of the damage, the farmers' anticipated bountiful crop has now suffered a setback.
He continues by saying that the incident will probablylikely a blow to the national government's efforts to guarantee adequate food security through rice farming.
Speaking at Ahero, Ouma notes that most farmers used loans to expand their crops, and many of them are counting huge losses out of concern that the flooding may not stop.
In Nyando, the floods have forced hundreds of people to flee, blocking roads.
