Wheat farmers cry foul as prices drop
A farmer sprays herbicide and fertilizer to wheat on a wheat field in Nanyuki. Even as they prepare to plant this season, wheat farmers in the North Rift are having difficulties selling their previous wheat produce. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Wheat farmers in the North Rift are having difficulties selling their produce.
- They have threatened to abandon growing the crop.
- A 90kg bag is currently being sold at Sh2,500, but farmers want at least Sh2,800.
Wheat farmers in the North Rift are having difficulties selling their produce, even as they prepare to plant this season.
The farmers have threatened to abandon growing the crop, accusing the government of favouring foreign imports at the expense of local producers.
“Farmers are stuck with hundreds of tonnes of the produce because the market is flooded with cheap imported wheat,” said Jackson Kosgey, a farmer from Moiben.
Wheat is planted between May and June in the North Rift.
Millers are stocking over 300,000 tonnes, a move that has led to decline in prices. A 90kg bag is currently being sold at Sh2,500, but farmers want at least Sh2,800.
