The Hunger That Will Hit Bungoma County Will Be Televised

Among the food baskets of Kenya, Bungoma County is one of them. For years, the county has been known for producing foodstuffs such as maize, cassava, and wheat, among others. The farmers in the larger Bungoma rarely did cash crops.

Regions and towns like Kakamega, Mumias, Vihiga, and Mbale relied on Bungoma for food. People would come from Mumias to Tongaren (then within Kimilili Constituency) to buy maize and other foodstuffs to go and sell back at home.

But now, things have changed. Tongaren Constituency (famously known as “Scheme” by the rest of the residents in the county is its former self, reeling with hunger and devastation with residents depending on lorries that ferry maize from far places to sell to them.

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The reason for this hunger and more to come is that most residents in Bungoma County, Tongaren to be specific have abandoned maize farming and immersed themselves fully into sugarcane farming amplified by the establishment of Naitiri Sugar Company.

Every homestead now has sugarcane. Small plots such as an eighth of an acre have sugarcane and maize farming has been abandoned. Other food crops have also been abandoned spelling doom for once a vibrant food basket not just in the region but the country.

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“Virtually everyone planted maize and other food crops in this place. But as you can see today, it is all about sugarcane. I have also abandoned maize farming. In today’s world, what matters is what gives you money. Why waste time on a crop that gives you no money?” said Mzee Joseph Sinino, a farmer and retired primary school head.

“Planting maize was the worst mistake that ever happened to us. The sugarcane farming idea came to us late. Maize never used to give us any money. One could use 50,000 shillings on planting maize only to get 20,000 out of it. Things are different with sugarcane farming,” said Emily Kisiang’ani, a resident of Tongaren Constituency, Bungoma County.

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Why are so many people in Bungoma now into sugarcane farming?

1. The pay for sugarcane is almost instant. The companies are competing for the farmers and most of the farm inputs including seedlings are provided by the company and deducted once the sugarcane is harvested. This makes it easy for the farmer who incurs little costs.
2. Maize farming has been making losses for most of them. Maize prices are never regulated by the government and if they do, it is not for the benefit of the farmer. This has often left farmers at the mercy of middlemen who quote their prices.
3. It is easier and cheaper to buy maize from someone else than planting your own. Planting maize is wanting and requires a lot of attention unlike sugarcane farming.

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What are the likely outcomes of this new shift?

1. Maize will become scarce. This is the same scenario that happened in Mumias when everyone went into sugarcane farming and abandoned maize farming. This will push the price of the crop to proportional highs and only those who will still be farming will enjoy the fruits.
2. Soil fertility will be disrupted. This means, farmers might not be able to get better yields in maize farming should they decide to shift from sugarcane farming back to maize farming. Sugarcane drains the soil more than the maize.
3. Poverty in the region will increase. Look at Mumias town. Sugarcane farming has never brought any growth in the town. When Mumias Sugar Company went down, the town went down.

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Sugarcane farming is good but let us not do it at the expense of our food.