Banana farmers from Gachuba Ward in Nyamira County have accused brokers of deceit and fraud on the product’s prices.
Speaking during a consultative meeting at Gachuba market, farmers unanimously agreed to seek alternative markets, if the vendors continued to give then little money for their commodity.
“They are taking us for granted. You cannot give only Sh70 for a bunch of banana and sell it as much as Sh400, yet we depend on the crop for payment of school fees for our children,” said Elizabeth Moraa, a veteran banana farmer.
She said farmers were duped by traders from Kisii County that the banana market was experiencing major downturn, contrary to their initial investigations.
“We were meant to believe in innuendos and hearsay that our market is experiencing a major downfall but that is not true. Banana market is doing extremely well than even before,” she said.
She urged farmers to halt from supplying their commodity, till they reach a consensus with their clients on fair prizes to avoid miscommunications about market trends of the product.
“Let us wait till we fix the crisis before we start supplying. It is important that our clients’ respect our significant contributions are reward us accordingly,” noted Moraa.
They asked authorities to apprehend suspected brokers and arraign them in court to face prosecution for alleged fraud.