The completion of a 65-kilometre road in Kieni constituency is expected to ease transportation of farm produce in an area considered as the food basket of Nyeri County.
The road links Tagwa, Kimahuri and Munyu villages.
The road, which is being turned to bitumen standards, will help residents deliver their produce from the farms to Chaka Modern Market. The market was built by the national government at a cost of Sh1 billion.
Speaking while inspecting the building of the road on Wednesday, Kieni MP Njoroge Wainaina said it would serve more than 50,000 residents and enhance creation of jobs at the grassroots.
Mr Wainaina said the project, once complete, would be a game-changer especially in mitigating the effects of drought that has hit the constituency.
“This road is the artery to the heart of Kieni. This route is a granary and it feeds all residents of Nyeri. This is a project that we have no choice than to complete,” Mr Wainaina said.
“We are happy because the contractor working on this road is doing a commendable job. He has so far tarmacked five kilometres. We hope that the road will be complete in less than a year,” he said.
“My office has been disbursing food to schools so as to ensure that learning continues undeterred by the biting drought. We will also be reaching out to families in their homesteads,” Mr Wainaina said.
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) says more than 55,000 people in Kieni are in dire need of food as shortage of rainfall persists in the country.
For the last five seasons, farmers in the constituency have not realized a ‘good’ harvest due to lack of rains and irrigation water.
According to the report commissioned by the county coordinator Lordman Lekalkuli, the most affected are Thegu, Mugunda and the lower parts of Mwiyogo wards where animals have started to die due to lack of pasture.
A survey of some of the affected villages found animal carcasses while water streams have dried up. The locals only hope is the start of the short rains.
Kieni residents are largely horticulture and dairy farmers and are now selling their animals to sustain their livelihoods.
According to the NDMA report, due to resource shortage, approximately 2, 500 animals have migrated from parts of Laikipia, Isiolo and Samburu to Kieni into Mt Kenya forest which could cause conflicts over resources.
“As the meteorological department had predicted, Kieni will remain dry through this month. Forage and water resources are likely to deteriorate further resulting in a decline in livestock productivity… as a result livestock prices will remain below normal,” read the report.
It further stated that due to poor production of food across the country, there was low stock of cereals held by traders thus ‘higher than normal’ prices are prevailing in the market.
“The scenario is expected to worsen in the coming months and we will witness children at risk of malnutrition increasing due to adverse drought effects,” the report stated.
