Counties

Migori's sweet potato farmers decry sour deals with middlemen

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A farmer attending to his sweet potato farm. FILE PHOTO | Elizabeth Ojina |NMG

Sweet potato farmers in Kuria, Migori County want the authorities to protect them from exploitative brokers who they say milk almost three quarters of revenues at their expense.

They say they have been sucked dry by dealers for a long time, claiming they pay them as low as Sh500 per 90kg sack, which then triples in value upon reaching Nairobi and other big town markets.

Currently, a 90kg bag of the crop goes for between Sh500 and Sh1000.

At Wakulima market in Nairobi, such a sack is retailing at between Sh3000 and Sh3500.

At the same market, three big pieces of the crop retail at Sh70, underscoring the value middlemen benefit from once the crop gets to the capital.

The farmers now say they are tired of toiling on their farms only to earn peanuts from their produce.

"It is very unfortunate that we do the donkey work only to benefit those who just come to buy and sell at high prices. The government should come to our rescue," said Mr Benson Maroa Mwita, a farmer from Ntimaru on Monday.

Mr Joseph Nyaisawa, another farmer from Kegonga, said the Kuria Community heavily depends on potato farming as their main source of income following the decline of tobacco but that they can’t make reasonable profits as middlemen scoop nearly three quarters of the return.

“I wonder why we get meagre profit in the potato business yet we are the main stakeholders,” he said.

Direct access

He says growers crave direct market access, without which they will remain “economic slaves” of intermediaries and continue languishing in poverty.

Scores of farmers in the County shifted from growing tobacco to sweet potatoes after poor prices, high cost of production and lack of markets made them a frustrated lot.

The exit of Alliance One tobacco company, which used to be the biggest leaf buyer, served as the ultimate death knell to the crop in the region.

However, despite the shift, potato farmers say they are still facing similar challenges.

According to them, proper means of transportation is a major hindrance to direct access to markets and the middlemen have taken advantage of this.

Processing plant

The farmers have urged the county government of Migori to fulfil its pledge of building a potato processing plant at Kehancha.

During his inauguration for the second term, Governor Okoth Obado promised to build a factory to help address the plight of farmers.

However, growers now say that over four months down the line, the local government has not shown any plans to set up a plant.

"Our governor promised this factory immediately he took office but there are no signs of any work being done," said Ms Boke Robi, a farmer from Kehancha.

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