Kenya: In Nyeri, one-third of a psychologist's patients are farmers ruined by the weather
About one-third of the patients seen by Kahindo Gacago, a clinical psychologist at Outspan Hospital in Nyeri, central Kenya, are farmers whose mental health issues are linked to repeated agricultural losses. This was reported by Africanews in a feature published on October 10, 2026, on World Mental Health Day.
Forty goats dead in three months
In Kiawara, a semi-arid area, Charles Ndung'u has been raising goats for over twenty years. He lost 40 animals in three months. The early rains in March did not produce enough pasture for a prolonged dry season; an animal epidemic struck in June, and the situation worsened from July onwards, with some goats becoming too weak to stand. "We depend on the goats for the children's school fees," he explained to Africanews.
Coffee trees that now must be watered
In Nyeri, Josephine Kihu has been growing coffee for three decades. Long periods of sunshine have forced her to switch to a more resistant variety and then to hire someone to water her plants, as rainfall is no longer sufficient. "As a farmer, you can go crazy," she summarizes.
Distress absent from agricultural programs
According to Kahindo Gacago, these farmers suffer from chronic stress and a feeling of loss of control in the face of weather that is beyond their influence. The psychologist also describes a loss of identity when they have to abandon their practices or migrate, and a potential reliance on alcohol or other substances.
He advocates for mental well-being to be integrated into farmer support programs, alongside climate-adapted agriculture and better access to irrigation.
Africanews links these difficulties to a possible "super El Niño" and climate change, which are making weather conditions unpredictable this year. The human cost of these hazards is therefore also measured in psychological consultations: a component rarely quantified in adaptation plans, even though farming families bear the consequences before anyone else.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
