Garissa farmers decry low harvests due to lack of agricultural machinery

Ibrahim Buur, a farmer in Sankuri, Garissa County, one of the few survivors of the April-May river floods, sits under a large mango tree staring at his two-acre farmland, once thriving but now showing little activity.

A once flourishing farmer, Ibrahim, is concerned over how the floods ravaged his farm, creating deep ravines and depositing heavy silt across his land.

He claims he can do less to salvage his farm, as he lacks the requisite machinery. His only hope is the county government, which he laments is not in a position to rescue him.

"I am a frustrated farmer. See how my farm was destroyed. I can't till with my bare hands or engage farm labourers; this needs heavy agricultural machinery, yet the county government is not in a position to help us," he lamented.

He stated that hiring a tractor to do the tilling was very expensive since the agricultural machinery service providers were not available within Garissa County.

Adjacent to his farm is Fatuma Hussein, who was plucking lemon fruits for the Garissa Market.

Her farm looks unattended since the River Tana floods submerged her farmland during the April-May heavy rains.

"The extent of damage and to produce sufficient crops in this farm needs agricultural machinery that prepares the land for crop growing; we suffered losses due to the El Nino and April-May floods; we come here only to harvest our lemons and mangoes that survived the floods; no much activity at my farm until I get agricultural machinery that can help us prepare this land," she said.

She concurred with her neighbour that hiring was expensive and human labour too, due to the extent of damages left by the floods.

Fatuma Hussein a farmer affected by the recent floods. (Photo: Issa Hussein)

Abdi Farah, the chairman of the Garissa Farmers Association, affirmed that the majority of the local farmers have now resorted to harvesting fruit trees that survived the floods rather than actively engaging in growing crops that will increase efficient crop production.

He said the farmers were left at a great loss by the floods that also destroyed the farm infrastructure, leaving gulleys that require the input of farm machinery.

On Tuesday, Nanighi ward Member of the County Assembly Abdullahi Sigat Ibrahim raised a similar concern at the county assembly, where he said the lack of adequate motorised farm equipment and machinery hampers farmers' ability to adapt to the requirements of modern farming in Nanighi ward and generally in the entire county.

While requesting a statement from the chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, and Pastoral Economy regarding the status of agricultural machinery services, he noted that the lack of support from the county government has forced some farmers to hire services from private entities at exorbitant prices.

Abdullahi claimed that the lack of mechanisation has forced many farmers to rely on manual labour for tilling their land, leading to low harvests.

He asked the chairperson of the committee to inquire and report on a detailed breakdown of agricultural machines that were operational, the plans to acquire new agricultural machinery and a detailed report on the total income generated from the agricultural machines in the past year.

Nanighi Ward MCA raised concerns about the lack of agricultural machinery at the Garissa County Assembly on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. (Photo: Issa Hussein)