Over 231 farmers in Kuresoi South who were given free pyrethrum seedlings by Nakuru County government have started reaping benefits from the crop.
The farmers say they pocket good money enabling them to pay their children’s school fee with ease as well as boosting their livelihoods.
“I am now like any other salaried person because I harvest the crop twice a week and sell them after every month at Kshs.200 a kilo and get at least Kshs.15, 000 monthly. I have therefore, extended a half an acre and am waiting for rains to start so that I plant one more acre,” said one farmer, Joshua Tonui. He added that before planting pyrethrum, he used to plant potatoes and peas which was costly and required intensive care with a lot of fertilizers and spraying only to be disappointed by exploitative selling prices.
In 2018, Governor Lee Kinyanjui launched a Pyrethrum Revival program that saw farmers from Kuresoi South, Kuresoi North, Subukia,Gilgil and Molo get into pyrethrum farming.
Joseph Koech, another farmer thanked the Governor for reviving the crop and bringing in investors who buy from them at good prices saying that according to experts the produce from the region has high pyrethrin content. “We are grateful to Governor Lee Kinyanjui for showing us the way. Once you have planted only weeding is required. He literally put money in our pockets,” he said
Koech says this has led to a high demand for seedlings among the locals, and requested the County government to distribute more seedlings before the onset of heavy rains in April.
The Sub county Agricultural officer Grace Langat said the farmers in 2018, 2019 and 2020 got disease-free and certified pyrethrum planting materials from the county.
