Farmers fault pyrethrum board for sleeping on the job
The national chairperson of Pyrethrum Growers Association Justus Mochache Monda.
Pyrethrum Growers Association (PGA) has urged the newly constituted Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (PPCK) board of directors to lobby for more funding from the national government.
PGA national chairperson Justus Mochache Monda said the association was concerned that the sub-sector was not mentioned in President Uhuru Kenyatta during Mashujaa Day celebrations.
President Kenyatta announced a raft of measures his government is planning to take to boost several sub-sectors in the critical agriculture sector including coffee, tea, dairy and rice.
However, in his last Mashujaa Day speech, the President did not mention anything on the revival of the critical sub-sector that has been ailing for the past 10 years due to underfunding.
"As PGA we don't blame the President. The newly appointed PPCK board should have lobbied for these funds like the heads of other sub-sectors," said Mr Monda.
He added: "The fact that “pyrethrum was left out on the reform measures that President Kenyatta wants his government to implement in the tea, coffee and dairy sector is a clear indication that the current leadership of PPCK board of directors is a big letdown."
More funds
"We're concerned as PGA because the sub-sector is critical in triggering the processing and manufacturing sector and should have been in the President revival list. We don't blame the President because he received the requests of injecting more funds from respective heads of the concerned sub-sectors. This is a wake-up call for the PPCK leadership to hit the ground running and knock every door in the national government and beg for money."
Mr Monda said since the PPCK management and its board had been fully constituted there was no reason the sector should have failed to be part of the President's revival agenda.
"We have substantive managing director Mary Ontiri and the board under the leadership of George Wachira and the two should work together to achieve the goal of reviving the sector and giving farmers hope," said Mr Monda.
He added: "Days, when they are supposed to sit in the ivory towers offices, are long gone and they should knock every door and seize the opportunity and beg for these resources and that is the only way farmers would be able to increase their production."
The PGA boss said the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has shown keen interest to revive the sector and the board of PPCK should use that goodwill to lobby for more funding from the national government.
"Unlike the past Agriculture CS, Mr Munya is ready to listen to the farmers and has visited Nakuru on a fact-finding mission and therefore he is easy to approach as he has listened to the plight of the farmers in the field in his last visit in Molo," said Mr Monda.
Ailing sector
He said it was crucial to revive the sector at this time when the private sector was willing to work with the government to jumpstart the ailing sector.
"The private sector wants to invest in insecticides for spraying produce for import and this will open up import markets in the European countries seeking to buy our horticulture produce," said Mr Monda.
However, Mr Monda said this will be achieved if the farmers have enough planting materials.
"The PPCK board should lobby for more funds to develop high yielding planting materials if it hopes to achieve its goal of reviving the ailing sector," said Mr Monda.
