Maize farmers in the North Rift region may lose 40 per cent of their expected maize produce to the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND), experts have warned.

Coupled with erratic weather conditions which saw the delay in long rains, farmers have seen their produce continue to dwindle since the disease first affected the crop in Bomet three years ago.

Trans Mara District Agricultural Officer Ernest Muendo said the disease has forced most farmers in the area to switch to other crops like sugar cane, potatoes and beans.

Mr Muendo said in 2013, 80 per cent of the crop was destroyed by the disease, forcing large-scale maize farmers to abandon the crop due to the losses they incurred.

He said Trans Mara alone produces 1.7 million bags of maize during a good season's harvest, but this year, they managed only 400,000 bags.

"Farmers here strongly rely on maize farming. A directive by the Government to switch to other alternative crops was ignored by most of them, and production has dwindled over the years," said Muendo.

"We have been forced to seek alternative sources of income but against the farmers' wishes," said Samson Kirui, a farmer from Bomet County.

However, he said the move by the Government to buy the commodity at Sh2,800 was still below farmers' expectations, adding that farmers should be paid at least Sh3,500.

A report by the Ministry of Agriculture names Bomet, Turkana, Samburu, Kajiado and Baringo as some of the counties with minimal food stocks, leading to higher prices for basic commodities.

Prices in most markets in Central Rift have reduced to Sh1,500 per 90kg bag, the report noted.

"The MLND continued to be reported in isolated places within Bomet and parts of Trans Mara. However, there was a decline in the crop area affected by the disease compared to last year," said Bomet Chief Executive officer for Agriculture Alex Kurui.

Source - http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/