Residents of West Pokot County have been advised to take advantage of the rainfall season and plant short term crops as the meteorological department has forecasted the rains will continue in the month of November till the beginning of December.
The meteorological department official also noted that water harvesting is also vital and encouraged residents to buy big tanks to preserve water and divert water into their farms.
West Pokot County Meteorology Director Wilson Lonyangole said the County is expecting a lot of rainfall in the highlands and low amount of rainfall in the lowlands and residents should take advantage.
He said planting of vegetables, irish potatoes, onions, grass, trees and plants that take three months to mature is advisable and will help to tackle food shortage in the County.
Speaking in his office Mr. Lonyangole cautioned maize farmers of the pro longed rainfall citing that their produce might rot in the farms. “In highland areas residents should plant trees because we expect mudslides and land erosion. They should get advise from Kenya Forest Service on what type of trees they should plant,” he said.
He noted that the prolonged rainfall caused much damage and he asked the County government to put contingent measures to avert such cases in future. “We have experienced landslides in Muino, Sakas, Solion, Tapach, Chemolo, Kaprowo, Sopowen and Nyarkulian, floods were experienced in Konglai, Kanyangareng, Suam and Kasei areas. People should be sensitized to move from areas which are prone to landslides and floods to prevent deaths,” he said.
He further advised farmers not to cultivate along the river system because the soil is loose and their crops might be wiped away by floods.