Posted on June, 12, 2023 at 09:47 am
Tharaka Nithi County lawmakers are pushing for better sale of green grams, lamenting on middlemen holding hostage of the cereal crop market.
Led by Tharaka Member of Parliament, George Murugara the legislators have put brokers on the spot warning that if the situation won’t change, they will introduce tough measures to control them.
Tharaka Nithi is among the best green gram producing counties in the country.
“We want our farmers to be paid well, their ndengu – green grams should be bought well,” Mr Murugara said on Sunday, June 11, 2023 speaking at a church service in Tharaka Nithi attended by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
Prof Kindiki joined Methodist Church of Kenya congregants in Marimanti, Tharaka Nithi for a Sunday service.
With continued increase of production costs in agriculture, Mr Murugara said green gram farmers continue suffering as middlemen profit themselves through their toil.
“A kilo of green grams should not retail below Sh100. We want better pricing for our farmers,” the MP stated, pledging to engage Trade Cabinet Secretary Mr Moses Kuria to address the crop’s market.
“Those brokers who go round buying a kilo of the cereal for Sh50, your days are numbered,” warned the lawmaker.
Tharaka Nithi Women Representative, Ms Susan Ngugi, also speaking at Methodist Church of Kenya service, called on the government to rescue ndengu farmers in the country.
“As a county we largely depend on green gram production for livelihood, our farmers need good pricing.”
Brokers in the country cut across all agricultural produce, and have for a long time been accused of frustrating farmers through poor pricing.
They take hostage farm produce markets, and determine pricing.
They buy yields at low price, selling them at high exorbitant prices hence frustrating the farmer, business people and consumers.