Muguka farmers demand inclusion in miraa task force

Embu County muguka farmers have petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to reconstitute the 14-member task force on miraa (khat), demanding to be included in the team.

Additionally, the farmers have urged Embu lawmakers, including Senator Lenny Kivuti, MPs Mutava Musyimi (Mbeere South), Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjes) and Muriuki Njagagua (Mbeere North) to stop the swearing in of the appointees until muguka growers are represented.

They want changes to the committee to represent the muguka-growing region and enhance gender parity even as Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi disagrees with them, asserting that the task force members understand the miraa industry.

Speaking in Kamugaa Village in Embu on Tuesday, Mbeere Muguka Farmers Sacco Limited chairman Francis Kimori said they felt sidelined in the deal aimed at enhancing miraa farming after it was made a cash crop through the Mediated Version of the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill No 2 of the Crops Act this year.

“We were very happy when we heard that the President had classified miraa as cash crop. A delegation of farmers came to me and they are disappointed to see that no one from Embu County has been included in the team. The task force also has people from Tharaka-Nithi where miraa is not grown,” Mr Kimori protested.

EQUAL TREATMENT

Mr Kimori said they were also pursuing a share of the Sh1 billion allocated to miraa farmers and called for equal treatment of all farmers.

He said the Embu County government had helped to develop a Bill to guide the improved production of muguka after miraa was a recognized cash crop in the country.

The Bill seeks to ensure construction of water pans to boost irrigation of farms for muguka, which is mainly grown in the semi-arid Mbeere region.

The muguka farmers representative claimed that the crop generated about Sh2 billion annually and the county government should help improve value addition.

Mr Kariuki Nyaga, a resident of Kamugaa Village in Mbeere South, said muguka had transformed the area and rescued them from biting poverty.

“We used to plant cotton but it was not doing well. The crop took a whole year to mature. Sometimes the yields failed and we were languishing in poverty. People were staying in grass-thatched houses and were perennially facing famine. That has now changed,” he said.

Mr Nyaga urged the government to help muguka farmers access loans to develop the crop.

NEW MARKETS

But speaking separately, Senator Kiraitu Murungi lauded the government for treating miraa with the seriousness it deserves.

Mr Murungi said the miraa task force is capable of helping farmers recover from the ban imposed on the mild stimulant by some members of the European Union, including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

“The ... team is made up of people who totally understand the crop. I'm happy with the president for naming the team,” he said.

The task force has three months to complete its assignment, according to a Kenya Gazette notice published on Friday last week.

Geoffrey Nchooro M’mwenda will chair the task force, with Principal Secretary Richard Leresian Lesiyampe as the alternate chairman. Dave Ntawa Muthuri is the task force’s vice-chairman.

The team is expected to suggest ways to ensure recovery of lost markets and to search for new markets for the miraa produce after extensive consultation with farmers, traders and relevant stakeholders.

Besides, the task force will also conduct research on miraa agronomy, variety improvement, product development and value addition.

The team will also identify opportunities for the development of capacity among farmers, including identifying and establishing demonstration farms.

The members of the team include Mweria Joseph Miriti, Kinyua Geoffrey John, Kilemi Lucy Nkirote, Rimbere Peter Kinyua and Karumpu R. Rodgers.