By Anderson Ojwang
The recent long rains in the country have witnessed several families affected, displaced and more importantly, Nyando Sub-county has continued to suffer from the age-long perennial floods.
The most affected areas in Nyando Sub-county include Ayweyo, Kabonyo Kanyagwal among other areas.
But in a move aimed at reducing the impact of flooding in the region, Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) has embarked on aggressive construction of dykes in the area.
LBDA Managing Director Mr. Wycliff Ochiaga was recently joined by area MP Jared Okello to commission a 4 km dyke in the area.
Ochiaga said the construction of dykes in the area was a game changer and would help contain the floods and give reprieve to the residents.
“The construction of dykes is a game changer not only in mitigating floods but will also contribute to reducing post-harvest losses, increasing acreage under rice plantation and helping reduce the country’s dependency on imported rice,” he said.
He said the construction of dykes was a bold move in line with the government’s Bottom-Up Approach Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) aimed at enhancing food security, boosting local livelihoods, and building climate resilience in the region.
The Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) has launched the construction of a 50-kilometre dyke along River Nyando.
River Nyando is one of the rivers in the Nyando River Basin prone to flooding every year, causing enormous loss of lives and property in the lower Kano Plains. The Authority is currently undertaking rehabilitation works on dykes earlier developed to contain floods in the Nyando area.
In the Kano Plains, about 60 percent of the households are temporarily denied access to cultivable lands when it is flooded.
The poor drainage of the flood plains makes large portions of the farmlands inaccessible, while some portions of the arable land are under prolonged inundation that reduces the number of better areas under cropping.
When floods occur, subsistence households living along the riverbanks are displaced by the high water levels, and then have to seek refuge on raised grounds or in neighbouring trading centres.
Most of these households have to live in temporary shelters until flooding recedes and they can return to their former homesteads and farmlands.
A local Member of County Assembly Maurice Ngeta recently said several families were suffering and appealed for support.
“We demand action by the county and national governments to give us a permanent solution to flooding in Nyando. We do not want to witness our people undergo prolonged suffering,” he said.
Recently, Kenya Red Cross Society warned of more rains in the region as families got displaced in both Kisumu and Homa Bay Counties.
