Trader makes hay while sun scorches land

Charles Njenga a vegetable trader who has turned to buying and selling hay from Isinya in Kajiado County to Lamu County. [Robert Menza, Standard]

As drought ravages the country, survival tricks and new business ideas have emerged among traders in Lamu County.

Charles Njenga, a trader, says he saw an opportunity in the hay business.

“I took a gamble after meeting a friend who owns a large herd of cattle. He told me of the hardships he encounters to ensure his cattle do not succumb to hunger pangs. And quickly, I mooted the idea of investing in the hay business,” says Mr Njenga.

Njenga, a vegetable dealer in Lamu County, has been in the trade for over a decade and a half.

He purchases hay from Isinya in Kajiado and transports it to Lamu, where he sells it to the livestock keepers. “It was during a random banter with a friend a herder friend that the idea to bring in hay from Isinya was born,” he says.

Njenga says he was informed that more than 5,000 head of cattle, sheep and goats had died due to lack of feed occasioned by drought.

“I gave my best, and in August 2021, I had invested Sh500,000 in the business,” he said.

Some 14 counties in the country have been badly affected by drought, with the majority of those affected being pastoralist regions.

“I knew it would take the county government some time before they brought in intervention measures. I took a chance that the herders would buy the hay out of necessity,” he said.

Njenga has not looked back, and today, he can transport 3,000 bales of hay, having made his fifth trip since August.

“I have already sold 1,000 bales in the Witu area, and I will be traversing Mokowe to sell the hay, which is in high demand,” he said.

He sells hay at Sh400 per bale.

And as part of interventions to beat the effects of drought and hunger, the Lamu County government has since partnered with Food and Agricultural Organisation to provide relief animal feeds to more than 750 livestock keepers locally, covering over 3,000 head of cattle affected by drought and disease.

An emergency water trucking programme is also underway in Lamu, with Moa, Chalaluma, Mangai, Kiangwe, Basuba, Roka, Belebele and Koreni areas being listed as hard-hit areas.