Dairy farmers from Chulaimbo in Kisumu county are now being forced to dig deeper into their pockets since the prices of Napier grass in the area have soared.
The high prices according to traders has been brought about by the high demand from farmers who have been busy preparing for El nino rains.
"Some of my customers say that they don't want to suffer when the rains finally hit the maximum levels. A majority of them are therefore storing it and as all businesses operate, when the demand is high we raise the prices," said Grace Kihala a napier grass farmer.
"Since Napier is scarce here, we have to take maximum advantage because very soon the grass will be available everywhere and the prices will be low," said Aggrey Ochieng, another Napier grass trader.
However, the dairy farmers in the area have expressed their dissatisfaction with the sellers for the exploitation.
"I previously used to purchase a wheelbarrow of Napier grass at Kshs. 200 but now the price has doubled. This is not fair at all," said Gregory Chamo, a dairy farmer from the area.