TRANS NZOIA COUNTY REVIEW

Trans Nzoia County is located in the former Rift Valley Province and covers an area of 2,495.5 kilometres squared. Some of the bordering counties include Uashin Gishu, Kakamega, Bungoma ans Elgeyo Marakwet.

POPULATION

According to the national census exercise that was carried out 2009, the total number of people living in Trans Nzoia County is approximated to be 818,757 making it one of the highly populated counties in the country. 20.4% of the total population live in the urban areas while the rest of the population reside in the rural areas.

CONSTITUENCIES

Trans Nzoia County has three constituencies namely;

• Kwanza Constituency
• Saboti Constituency
• Cherangany Constituency

GEOGRAPGHY AND CLIMATE

Trans Nzoia County has a high altitude of 1400m above the sea level in the highlands and 1000 metres in the low lands. This have an adverse effect on the temperature experienced in the county. As one goes higher the cooler it becomes, during the cold months the temperatures falls up to 10 degrees Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius during the hottest months. July is the coldest month while August and January are the hottest months.

The average amount of rainfall received in Trans Nzoia County ranges between 1200 and 1500mm per annum. This enables the residents to plant a wide range of crops on the land. The soils are very fertile and have all the essential nutrients for plant growth. The good ground cover helps to prevent soil erosion that leads to loss of plant nutrients and vegetations. Most parts of the county have gentle slopes and this helps the farmers to grow a wide range of crops without fear of landslides and soil erosion.

AGRICULTURE

This is one of the main economic activities carried out by most of the residents in Trans Nzoia County. Some of the crops grown in the county in the county include tea, coffee, maize, beans, wheat and horticulture. These crops are usually grown on large scale and small scale depending on the available land available for the farmers.

Dairy farming is also practised widely in Trans Nzoia County and this has enabled the county to be self sufficient in relation to dairy products such as milk and meat. Beef farming is also practised in the county in small scale due to lack of enough land to set up ranches. Some of the horticultural crops grown in Trans Nzoia include tomatoes, mangoes and vegetables. Most of these products are consumed locally while the surplus is sold in the nearby towns and counties such as Nairobi and Nakuru.

ECONOMY

Agriculture is the main economic activity carried out in Trans Nzoia. The activities are usually carried out in large tracts of land and this helps in ensuring that the county and the country attain the right level of food security. Maize is grown in large scale and stored in silos that are managed by the National Cereals Board. Some of the maize is consumed locally while the surplus is sold to the various towns and factories located in the county. This factories offer employment opportunities to the residents and this in turn helps to foster economic growth and alienate poverty in the county.

Various businesses have being set up in the urban areas and this has enables the residents to get easy access to the various basic needs. Examples of these businesses include retail and whole sale shops, supermarkets and petrol stations. There are a total of eight commercial banks and two micro finance institutions that provide affordable and reliable financial service to residents of the county. These facilities help to foster economic growth through offering loans to farmers and business personnel who wish to expand their various businesses.

Real estate entrepreneurs have also constructed apartments, hotels and lodges in the urban area and near the various tourist attraction sites. Some of the tourist attraction sites include:

HEALTH AND EDUCATION

Trans Nzoia has 471 primary schools and over 100 secondary schools that provide free and quality basic education to the young generation in the county. There are also over twenty tertiary learning facilities that provide quality and affordable higher learning education to scholars from all over the world.

There are over seventy district hospitals and 33 dispensaries that provide health services to the residents. Other health facilities in the county include VCT centres, Nursing homes and Maternity homes. This helps in ensuring that all residents of Trans Nzoia County get access to health services at any time of the day.