The President, who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto, pointed out that his Government has allocated Sh2 billion to support the miraa sector. [Photo/capitalfm.co.ke]
President Uhuru Kenyatta Saturday said the Jubilee Government has taken unprecedented measures by upgrading miraa to a cash crop and making available billions of Shillings to cushion farmers.
He said his Administration has for the first time given miraa farmers the attention and State support denied them by previous administrations.
The President dismissed opposition leader Raila Odinga’s recent pronouncements concerning miraa as insincere and belated.
He said it was surprising Odinga was feigning concern for miraa farmers when he never took any action to support them when he was Prime Minister in the coalition government.
The President described the opposition leader’s recent claims that Jubilee has not done enough for Miraa farmers as nothing more than a ploy to hoodwink voters in miraa growing regions.
“This is the first Government that has made miraa a cash crop and today there is no difference between coffee farmers and miraa farmers,” said the President speaking in Laare, Meru County.
The President, who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto, pointed out that his Government has allocated Sh2 billion to support the miraa sector.
The money will be used to support farmers through loans to be channeled through cooperatives that will be formed once a drive to register those who produce the crop is completed.
The President said his Government has also set up a directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture to deal with affairs to related to miraa farming.
President Kenyatta told residents to ignore propaganda being pushed by the opposition on the Government drive to register miraa farmers.
“Some people are spreading unhealthy propaganda and telling farmers that the registration will be used to tax farmers. That is a lie. The truth is that the data will be used for purposes of guiding State support for the sector,” said the President.
He said the data will be used to set up cooperatives through which farmers can access loans the same way coffee and tea farmers do.
The President said the Jubilee Government is also upgrading the infrastructure network to ease transportation of miraa within Kenya besides working to improve the international market.