The volumes of flowers supplied to the Nakuru-based processor has dropped from 390 tonnes in 2014 and 310 tonnes in 2015 to 290 tonnes last year, with projected volumes for 2017 expected to dip further.
Farmers have been demoralised by the debts that the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK)–a parastatal— owes them, leading to the abandonment of the crop for alternatives.
The government plans to revive the trouble-ridden sector to enable Kenya reclaim its glory as the world’s leading pyrethrum producer.
Pyrethrum earnings dropped 42 per cent last year to Sh120 million as debt-ridden farmers continue to abandon the crop.
Data from directorate of pyrethrum indicates that the volumes of flowers supplied to the Nakuru-based processor has dropped from 390 tonnes in 2014 and 310 tonnes in 2015 to 290 tonnes last year, with projected volumes for 2017 expected to dip further.
Head of the directorate Andrew Osodo says farmers have been demoralised by the debts that the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK)–a parastatal— owes them, leading to the abandonment of the crop for alternatives.
The parastatal owes farmers Sh12 million for supplies dating back to June last year.
The non-payment has hampered plans to revive the once lucrative industry. “It has become hard to convince farmers to get back to the crop, especially now when the arrears have not been cleared,” said Mr Osodo.
In 2014, exports of pyrethrum extract earned the country Sh200 million, rising to Sh207 million in 2015 before last year’s dip to Sh120 million.
Mr Osodo says the parastatal needs to pay the debt and conduct massive campaign to educate farmers on the economic importance of the crop, adding that they plan to start a sensitisation programme before the planting season next month.
The directorate has applied for Sh150 million in the 2017/18 Budget. It has had to make do with low funding since the government launched a plan to revive the industry four years ago.
The Nakuru factory has a daily crushing capacity of 25 tonnes, but the low volumes mean that it is not optimally utilised.
The industry was handed a mini revival in October 2013 when the government injected Sh50 million into the parastatal. This was after processing had stalled for five months due to Sh55 million debts owed to farmers.
The government’s plan is to revive the trouble-ridden sector to enable Kenya reclaim its glory as the world’s leading pyrethrum producer. “We are doing all that we can to ensure that the sector is fully revived, this includes addressing the underlying issues that have affected its growth,” says Mr Osodo.
Nakuru remains a major growing zone for the crop while in the North Rift region, pyrethrum is grown in Burnt Forest and Timboroa in Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo-Marakwet and West Pokot counties.
Until the sub-sector hit headwinds from 2003, Kenya was the major producer of the crop in the world, meeting 70 per cent of the global demand.
According to a 2014 report by Pyrethrum Growers Association, Kenya’s production fell 91 per cent between 2003 and 2011, as payment issues at PBK and the rise of synthetic insecticides took their toll.
Currently, the world demand for pyrethrum stands at 8,000 tonnes annually, with the production in Kenya having dropped to less than three per cent of the global requirement.
Most of the pyrethrum produced is meant for export with the local market consuming less than two per cent.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
