Sub-divisions threaten Nakuru farmlands

Land-buying companies in the western part of Nakuru are making a killing sub-dividing land parcels and selling them to housing developers. But experts are warning that the move poses a major threat to food production in the Central Rift region and might end up in the proliferation of uncontrolled developments.

Some of the newly-constructed houses in Rafiki farm in Kabarak area of Nakuru town,the area was intially meant for agriculture but now new homes have been constructed within. (PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU/ STANDARD)

Land values around Kabarak, Ngata, Kirobon and other areas near Naishi on the outskirts of Nakuru town have skyrocketed, with plots selling like hot cakes.

Property experts say scarcity of land within the former municipality has led to the scramble for land in Kabarak and other areas like Bahati and warn that this does not augur well for food production.

Kabarak residents have accused the county government of allowing the subdivision of land outside the former municipality, saying it could lead to food insecurity in the near future.

Like hot cakes

Shadrack Koskei, a resident, says that the land he used to rent for agricultural activities has been bought by a land-buying company, which has subsequently subdivided it into 50 by 100 foot plots. This, he says, will see no more agricultural activities take place in the area.

“I used to produce 200 bags of maize from my two hectares of land, but now the land buying company has offered a good deal to the land owners who don’t seem to see beyond the sale,” he says.

In parts of Ngata, residents say the land was meant for agricultural purposes. But John Komen, a resident, says that the last two years has seen land in the area sub-divided into 50 by 100 and 40 by 80 foot plots.

In Kabarak and Ngata, a plot measuring 50 by 100 feet goes for between Sh900,000 and Sh1 million, depending on the location.

The estate has seen new and modern houses come up, with investors trying to outdo one another in terms of coming up with modern and elegant home designs.

Komen attributed the unplanned subdivision to failure by the Nakuru County government to regulate the sector.

“Nakuru County should come up with structures to deal with this issue. I know the county government may not be seeing what we are seeing as residents but in the near future, there will be no land for cultivation,” he says.

A land expert, Henry Mwaniki, who is also a director of Royal Gate Limited, attributes the scramble for land in these areas to rural-urban migration, which is forcing residents to rush to Nakuru town in search of employment.

Modern designs

Mwaniki says that failure by the county government to introduce industries in rural areas was forcing the youth and other job-seekers to move to nearby towns, creating a housing crisis in Nakuru town, thus forcing investors to buy and construct rental houses on land within the municipality. “Rural-urban migration is forcing a big number of investors to purchase formerly agricultural land that was feeding thousands of Nakuru residents. Unless the County Government of Nakuru comes in to advise investors to invest in rural areas, the crisis will continue,” he says.

Mwaniki says the national government should come up with a long-lasting solution by introducing agriculture on trust land to end food insecurity, which may rock Nakuru, well-known for being an agricultural food basket.

Efforts to get a comment from the county’s Lands, Housing and Physical Planning County Executive, Rachel Maina, were futile as she did not return our calls. But the Nakuru County Assembly Chairman for Lands, Housing and Physical Planning Committee, Jonathan Warothe, said they have already hired consultants through the spatial programme to zone all the areas so that they can foster controlled development within the former Nakuru Municipality.