The couple had expected a return of 200,000 shillings from their three acres after investing 80,000 shillings in maize, peas, cabbages, tomatoes and kale. But their hopes have been uprooted and destroyed.
The rains that started in mid-March have posed immediate dangers and left others to come. They have killed nearly 300 people, left dams at historically high levels and led the government to order residents to evacuate flood-prone areas—and bulldoze the homes of those who don’t. As farmers count their losses—a total yet unknown—the deluge has exposed what opposition politicians call Kenya’s ill preparedness for climate change and related disasters and the need for sustainable land management and better weather forecasting.
In Kenya’s rural areas, experts say efforts to conserve water resources remain inadequate despite the current plentiful rainfall.