Pyrethrum farmers have a reason to smile after the ailing industry was allocated Sh300 million in this year’s budget estimates.
Kenya
was once the world’s leading producer of pyrethrum but due to poor
management of the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK), the industry
regulator, the business grappled with hard times for many years.
Poor pay to farmers hurt production seeing the closure of flower factories.
“We
expect to see the revival of all pyrethrum nurseries to enable farmers
access planting materials,” the chairman of Pyrethrum Growers
Association, Samuel Kihiu, told the Saturday Nation on Friday.
OUTSTANDING DEBTS
He
said the management of PBK should also be restructured while the
outstanding debts that the farmers owe the board should be written-off.
Many farmers, Mr Kihiu said, have given up growing the crop due to lack of planting materials.
From
1992 to 1993 pyrethrum farmers delivered 18,000 tonnes of flowers. Last
season, Mr Kihiu, who once worked as a senior officer at PBK, said the
growers only managed to harvest 400 tonnes.
He urged farmers to consider farming the crop once the nurseries are revived.
Pyrethrum
is grown in different counties, with Nakuru being the leading producer
at the moment. Others are Nyandarua, Uasin Gishu, Bomet, Elgeyo
Marakwet, West Pokot, Baringo, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Embu and Nyeri.
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