Bahati MP Onesmus Kimani Ngunjiri has called on his constituents to embrace pyrethrum farming.
Speaking on Tuesday when he led a team of workers in planting the crop, the legislator revealed that the cash crop had made his late father a multi-millionaire in 1970s.
The vocal Jubilee legislator is putting eight acres of his land under pyrethrum as an encouragement to local farmers to revert to pyrethrum farming.
“What we are saying is that if the locals can embrace this crop, then there are more benefits. The crop was paying as highly as most horticultural crops meant for export,” he said.
The MP expects to plant more than 176,000 splits from 22,000 pyrethrum bushes, all supplied from the nursery of the pyrethrum processing company limited in Subukia.
Speaking when he visited the farm, managing director of the pyrethrum processing company, Mr Paul Lolwerikoi praised the politician for his continued support to the sector.
“I want to commend the MP for the gesture and I call on all leaders to emulate such. As a company we shall plant more 5,000 acres with pyrethrum during this first season of the year and rise to more than 15,000 by next year,” he said.