By Abdimalik Hajir - Reporter
Kenya, 19 May 2026 - Farmers in Garissa have decried the perennial flooding as a result of dams that release water every rainy season, vowing to seek compensation over damages on their crops.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday at Garissa’s Farmers Training College (FTC), representatives from the Garissa Farmers Network said the only help they have been getting from the government is giving them alert three days before water is released downstream, a matter that has devastated their livelihood.
“Things will no longer be the same again, we will be seeking redress from the courts and other relevant agencies. We have lost millions of shillings to floods that come every year from 2004,” said Mohamed Hassan, who is one of the farmers.
He said farms along the River Tana that stretches up to 400km have been adversely affected anytime there are floods but the government - both the national and county - has had little intervention.
The floods, they said, are caused by the releasing of water by dams upstream which can be mitigated if the government is ready to solve these issues permanently.
Amina Issa, one of the committee members in the farmers network, said farmers have lost their incomes, food for their families and money to pay fees after every devastating flood wreaks havoc on their farms.
“We have waited for years for the government to find solutions to this problem but unfortunately nothing has been done,” she told journalists.
She said the flooding that has now become normal has affected farmers across 400km along the River from Balambala to Abalatiro in Ijara.
“The effects are felt from bee keeping to crops and fodder for our animals. These are income streams that farmers have been getting from farms that are now affected by the recurrent floods,” she said.
The farmers said they will move to court seeking to enjoined in a case filed by Nominated MP Umulkheir Harun who has sued the state over perennial floods along the Tana River.
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The lawmaker representing youths in Parliament have been vocal for the government to find permanent solutions to the flooding that has affected the livelihood of farmers across Tana River.
The farmers now said they will no longer watch as their livelihood is swept downstream every year.
“We are looking for compensation because it is extremely difficult to invest year in year out and the investment goes down the drain,” added Amina, noting that some farmers have already abandoned farming as a result of recurring floods.
Duba Godad, one of the farmers, also added her voice saying they feel neglected and forgotten by both levels of government.
She regretted that authorities have done nothing to intervene despite their huge losses.
“Anytime there are floods they just tell us to evacuate without offering any solutions. Before devolution, the government used to come forward and help farmers when they are affected but now the national government has forgotten us and the county does not care about us,” she said.
She appealed to President William Ruto for intervention saying they have decided to seek redress from the courts as they are engaging lawyers, noting that they will not sit down seeing their investment swept every year with no one held to account.