Sorghum farmers in Nakuru County may incur huge losses due to lack of market.
Peter Njogu, a farmer in Njoro, said he planted sorghum instead of maize because he was informed that it was in high demand by beer manufacturers.
However, when he went to inform them that his crop was ready for harvest he was advised that one of the manufacturers, East African Breweries Limited (EABL), only buys sorghum from contracted farmers.
Njogu said he was recruited to grow sorghum by a man who claimed to be an EABL agent, who convinced them that the crop would be bought at Sh20 per kg at the farm gate.
Since sorghum takes only three months to mature, the farmers quickly took up the challenge but now they look frustrated.
Farmers are also attracted to the crop because it is drought tolerant and is hardly affected by pest diseases like wheat, which requires a lot of spraying. Some farmers blamed lack of market to the increased exercise duty imposed on keg beer in this year’s budget.
The government in the 2013/2014 budget introduced 50 per cent exercise duty on beer made from sorghum, millet and cassava. This pushed up the cost of production of a litre of keg beer to Sh35.