As preparations for tomato farming gets underway in Subukia Sub-County, tomato farmers in the area have appealed to the county government to de-silt dams to have enough water to sustain the farming.
The farmers also want the county government to protect them from middlemen who buy the produce at low prices and package the produce beyond the standard weight of 60 kilogrammes per crate.
“Middlemen package the produce between 80 and 90 kilogrammes in what they call ‘turbo.’ With this kind of packaging, farmers cannot benefit from their farming. We call on Governor Kinuthia Mbugua to protect farmers in price control and packaging,” said Alex Njoroge, a farmer.
They say with the expected El Nino rains early next month, dams in the area have never been rehabilitated and doing so will be a relief for the farmers. The farmers say that when the dams are rehabilitated for storage of water, this will save them from perennial water shortages and conflicts over water for irrigation.
“Water has been a major challenge for most farmers as the crops are planted during the dry spell. If the county government de-silts these dams before the onset of the El Nino, this problem will be solved once and for all,” said Francis Muhia who already has prepared five acres for farming.
“Also, the county government should seriously implement the law on packaging to the latter before the produce gets ready for harvest in three months time,” he added.
The dams are along river Mumui and Subukia which are the main source of water used for irrigation in tomato farms.
Njoroge who has been farming tomato since 2000 says it costs an average of 120,000 shillings per acre from planting the crop and taking it to the market.
Peter Kinuthia, Mihang’o Sub-Location assistant chief said that due to continuous use of the rivers and other streams in the area water dries up.
“As a result, this elicits complaints and conflicts from residents from the lower side of Mbogoini Division who also rely on the rivers for domestic and animal use,” he says.
A crate of tomatoes is bought at 800 shillings and 1,500 shillings during high season and 2,500 and 3,500 shillings in low season. The main markets for the produce areMombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Kisii where a crate is sold at 4,500 shillings.