A self-help group comprising 50 women and men from vulnerable households in Nakuru and Molo sub-counties have benefited from a pyrethrum growing programme funded by the county government of Nakuru.
The Sh10 million programme which has been in effect since the last financial year, is geared towards upscaling pyrethrum growing in the county`s high potential areas, while boosting the economic status of needy families in rural areas.
Speaking Wednesday in Molo sub-county, Jane Mbugua, the chairperson of the Molo Pyrethrum Growers Self-help Group said the programme has improved farmers' lives.
The crop has a short harvesting cycle but with high profits.
"This programme has immensely changed the livelihoods of pyrethrum farmers in this region. The Nakuru regional government in collaboration with extension officers from the Pyrethrum Regulatory Authority in Nakuru have assisted us access extension services and disease resistant pyrethrum seeds for high productivity," Mrs Mbugua said.
The group’s chairperson has also acknowledged how the programme has enabled the members to cultivate and harvest healthy crops while also mentoring their peers to join them in cultivating the crop.
"We are glad that the programme is already paying off as compared to maize and vegetables. It is because of this that we now intend to invest in the sector as it is highly rewarding."
According to Mbugua, the Pyrethrum Regulatory Authority has over the last two years raised the price of dry pyrethrum flowers delivered per kilogram from Sh175 to Sh300 in a bid to spur farmers into large scale pyrethrum farming.