Murang'a: Heavy downpour that was experienced between the months of March and April in Murang'a has been blamed for dwindling supplies of common vegetables in many markets within Murang'a County. Grocery vendors have been forced to import common vegetables from neighbouring counties and also countries like Tanzania leading to high prices of groceries.
According to Kenya News Agency, prices of groceries like onions, tomatoes, carrots, and green vegetables have surged by over 40 percent in the past one month. This spike has been attributed to a prolonged dry spell in the months of January and February, which was later followed by heavy rains that devastated crops in the farms. Farmers in Murang'a and neighbouring counties claimed that the heavy rainfall destroyed much of their produce, particularly tomatoes and leafy greens, resulting in reduced harvests.
'Early in April, a sack of onions was going for around Sh4,000. Now it's selling for Sh6,500 and still the prices are escalating due to shortage of the produce,' said John Mwangi, a grocery trader at Mukuyu open air Market. 'We've started sourcing onions from Tanzania because the local supply can't meet the demand, and quality of locally sourced onions has also been severely affected by the rains hence they get spoiled within a short period,' he added.
Mwangi further noted that tomatoes have also been heavily impacted, saying many retailers were reporting a noticeable drop in quality and freshness, as the rains have disrupted harvesting schedules. 'Farmers are being forced to harvest prematurely to avoid rot, leading to poor-quality produce in markets,' he remarked.
Traders have also begun importing other produce such as peas and oranges from countries like Tanzania and Egypt. However, they say the process is not straightforward due to cross-border trade regulations and policy hurdles. Farmers are feeling the brunt of the crisis just as much as traders as Hellen Muthoni, a small-scale farmer, explained how the weather extremes have affected her cabbage yields.
'I used to harvest about 2,000 heads of cabbage, selling each at Sh15. Now, I can only get about 1,000, and I'm forced to sell each at Sh20 just to try and recover my losses, though it's still not enough,' she said. 'This is affecting our home projects and our children's education. Customers can't even afford a proper meal because of the food shortages,' Muthoni lamented.
Both traders and farmers are calling on the government to intervene as they appeal for investment in improved storage and cold-chain systems to preserve freshness during transportation and market storage. They also seek increased farm input subsidies to support local production and more investment in agricultural research and extension services to train farmers on modern, climate-resilient, and cost-effective farming methods.
Additionally, they are advocating for the development of digital market platforms to enable real-time connections between farmers and traders. Such platforms, they believe, would reduce market delays and promote e-commerce solutions with same-day delivery options for fresh produce. As the agricultural sector continues to bear the weight of climate change and logistical challenges, these key players hope for immediate action to stabilize the market and restore food security in the region.