Economic Activities

Most of the people in the region practice Subsistence farming. The size of land farmers have ranges from one quarter to 2 acres. The major cash crop has been tobacco, which has caused more environmental damage to the region than the economic value accrued because of being fuel-cured it has caused further destruction of the forest cover.  Coffee and Cotton which were the best cash crops, have since been abandoned due to poor crop finance and drop of prices in the world market. Only few farmers still practice coffee farming but on a very small scale.

The Common food crops grown in the region are Beans, Cassava, Sorghum, Millet, Sweet Potatoes, Simsim, Maize and Groundnuts. Of late, upland rice has been introduced in parts of the region and is doing very well. But with the reduction in forest cover and other factors beyond control – like global warming, Elnino and others; the region now experiences longer periods of drought and with much depleted soil fertility; the crop yields are generally low resulting into lack of food security.

Although the first Nyagak hydroelectric power station was commissioned in 2012, there is no electricity supply to the rural areas. The people do most of their cooking using firewood. Introduction of energy conservation stoves and other renewable energy sources would be the best alternative that can save the forest cover from depletion. Even though most people in the region consider animals as valuable assets, the average farmer has only a few goats and sheep and may be 2 to 3 cows.