Mwea farmers escape narrowly from the jaws of death

Farmers in Mwea irrigation scheme are crying after the failed rains ruined their crop harvest so much that they almost harvested nothing. The last season was a total failure and many are now struggling to make ends meet as they wait for the upcoming planting season in august. River thiba and nyamindi went dry causing a crisis due to the huge demand for irrigation water against the backdrop of less supply.

Initially all was well and farmers planted as usual and heavily spent money to buy fertilizers, pesticides and plough, but one month later hell broke loose. The rains stopped and the rivers and canals went dry and rice started drying and maturing prematurely. An acre of land would produce thirty bags of rice, but farmers only managed to harvest at most five bags per acre.