Kenya's farmers restricted by poor access roads: Mwangi Mumero reports on the transport crisis hitting parts of Kenya's Central Province. This huge regional market is cursed with unsealed roads that are washed away in the rainy season.

WHILE KENYA PRIDES itself as an agricultural country--with 70 per cent of the GDP coming from the sector, access roads to most farming regions in the country remain dismal. In the last five years the government has tried to make many rural roads passable, especially in the rainy season, but much remains to be done to make all agricultural regions reachable.

And it is not just agriculture that is affected, but all commercial activities in rural areas that are far from the tarmac roads which are foubnd in many major towns and cities. While the country has over 90,000km of roads in its network, only the major roads--connecting towns and cities--are in good condition. But the vital links to rural areas, where most of the farming takes place, remain dilapidated.

Nyandarua district in Central Kenya illustrates the dismal conditions in which rural farmers find themselves, especially during the rainy seasons. Nyandarua is the largest of the seven Districts that make up the Central Province with a total area of 3,304sq kilometres.

Chips and crisps

The District borders Laikipia to the north, Nyeri and Murang'a District to the east, Kiambu District to the south and Nakuru to the west. Nyandarua is one of the main sources of Nairobi's food. It is estimated that the capital city has a population of six million by day and half that figure at night. Each day, over 40 truckloads of potatoes leave the District destined for the city's fast-food outlets that feed the rising multitudes with chips and crisps.

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It is not just potatoes that get to the Wakulima market, the main food market in the capital city. Large tonnages of vegetables like kale, cabbages, spinach and carrots leave the many farms in the expansive District for kitchens in Nairobi, Nyeri, Embu and Nakuru Districts.

While the Rift Valley may be the main source of most of the milk processed in the country, a huge amount comes from many smallholder farmers in Nyandarua who raise Friesian and Ayrshire cows on the cool highlands. But even with this huge potential, the District's agricultural output remains low due to poor roads. Over the years, the road network in the District has suffered greatly from neglect, making the area a laughing stock for neighbouring Districts that have miles upon miles of tarmac roads. The District is among the few in the country that have no tarmac roads accessing farming communities in the interior. The only tarmac roads are those heading to Rumuruti, Nakuru, Nyeri and Nairobi itself. In the last few years, the Kinagop-Ol Kalou-Nakuru road has been under construction and locals expect it to open the area to the bigger Nairobi market and beyond.

With the East African Community becoming a reality, local farmers expect access to the huge regional market. But for most of July and August, roads in this District were impassable following heavy rains. Worst hit were the earthen roads that make up most of the network. The roads have been muddy and wet, creating barriers where no vehicles can pass and people and goods have to be ferried either on donkey or human backs.

"It is a tragedy that we have even to carry patients on our backs for over five kilometres due to impassable road sections. Some of the cabbages are rotting on our farms as lorries cannot get to them", laments Wahome Kamau, a resident of Ngano sub-location, in Ol Joro Orok division.

For the last month, residents of the area have to walk for over an hour to get to the points on the roads that are accessible to vehicles. Ngano Township, a vibrant rural outpost rich in the potato business, has been cut off, starving businesses of money.

"Without potato lorries getting to this township, our businesses have come down badly. The effect on meat consumption has been immediate as the purchasing power of farmers goes down. These lorries are our lifeline", agonises John Maina, a butchery operator in the township.

Others have to endure the problems of not getting enough of their business requirements. "It has been worst for the shopkeepers as we cannot access the consumer good from our suppliers. Sometimes we are forced to hire donkeys to get sacks of sugar or crates of soda to our shops as vehicles are unable to get to our shops", says David Njuguna, a shopkeeper in the township. And with this turn of events, prices of commodity prices at the shops soar while farm-gate prices of vegetables and potatoes plummet.

Some time back, overproduction of milk as the rains fell coupled with poor roads led to some farmers pouring away their milk. Today however, the farmers can continue to sell their milk to the refurbished New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) without a change in pricing. Those tendered to collect and deliver the milk to the KCC have to bear the brunt of increased repair costs as the lorries break down due to the poor roads.

Some of the other badly hit roads include the Nyahururu-Shamata, Nyahururu-Boiman, Gwa Kiongo-Tumaini and 01 Kalao-Passanga roads. In recent years the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the Ministry of Public Works have tried to improve the situation but are seemingly overwhelmed. For instance the 01 Kalou constituency website indicates that the constituency has slightly over 2,400km of road network. There are three other constituencies in the District. Only about 400km of this is classified as A, B, C, D, and E. Some further 300km or so is classified into the L-category in line with the earlier system of rural access roads.

In the last eight years a few main roads have been gravelled to all-weather standards but ilmprovement has been slow in coming. In the last year a section of the vital 16km Ngano-Nyahururu road has had murram added. A four-kilometre stretch remains undone creating problems for moving agricultural produce. "It is far better than before and our fuel consumption has come down. The whole road must be completed to reduce the inconveniences current in the region", says Peter Kamau, a potato transporter.

Local professionals concur that for the full potential of the district to be realised roads must be developed. "Most of the farmers here are aggressive and ambitious and can produce more if provided with a good road network. The weather and soils are good for most of the year, policy makers musts make roads a priority", asserts George Mwithirania, a medical practitioner.

Recently, the District was given Ksh200mn for road reconstruction. District Roads Engineer Joseph Wanjohi said it will cost Ksh700,000 per kilometre, but observers believe that the money will make little difference to the battered local farming community.