State reveals plans to support fruit farmers

Mung beans, cowpeas, pigeon peas, mangoes and orange farmers will soon access affordable credit to buy farm inputs if a planned move by the government to boost the production of the crops which Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has revealed sees the light of day.

The planned financial support to fruit and pulses farmers was the highlight of Prof Kindiki’s three-week whirlwind tour in Kitui, Machakos and Makueni counties which ended on Monday.

The plan entails insulating farmers from the prohibitive costs of producing the targeted crops by enabling them to access affordable credit to buy farm inputs, addressing post-harvest losses and assisting farmers to market their produce.

Prof Kindiki said the plan was part of a broader plan by President William Ruto’s administration to unlock the economic potential of the Ukambani region where fruits and pulses do well.

“For the last 60 years, the government has been supporting farmers in the production of coffee, milk, tea and sugarcane. However, the government has been sidelining farmers who grow cowpeas, pigeon peas, mung beans, oranges and assorted citrus fruits which do well in the Ukambani region. We have agreed with some of the Ukambani MPs that the government needs to set aside funds to incentivise the production of pulses and the fruits which sit at the heart of the economies of the Ukambani region just like the way we support cash crops which do well in other regions,” Prof Kindiki said at Mitaboni township in Machakos County on Monday.

“We are planning to meet thousands of pigeon peas, cow peas, mung beans, oranges and citrus fruit farmers at my offices in Nairobi. The meeting will take place soon,” Prof Kindiki added. It remains unclear whether the planned support of fruits and pluses farmers will require the enactment of a relevant law. The announcement by Prof Kindiki has raised hope among pulses and fruit farmers in the Ukambani region who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

“In this region, agriculture is bedeviled by use of substandard seeds, frequent droughts and pests,” said Phyllis Nduva, the chairperson of Makueni Fruit.

An incentive is set to boost production of pulses and assorted fruits by cushioning farmers from the shocks associated with drought, pests, and price fluctuations in the market,” said Phyllis Nduva, the chairperson of Makueni Fruit Processors Cooperative Society.

Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse who has been campaigning for a government support on the crops which thrive in the Ukambani region to unlock the region’s economic potential said the planned incentive was key in unshackling the Ukambani region from the yoke of poverty. He said the government was on track to roll out the planned incentive to fruits and pulses farmers.

“The government has already set up a technical team to advise on the modalities of rolling out the incentives to support the production of mung beans, cow peas, pigeon peas, mangoes and oranges. We are looking forward to the rollout of the incentives before the October-November-December short rainy season. When the government rolls out the money for supporting farmers to produce mung beans, cow peas, pigeon peas, mangoes and oranges, do not hesitate to go for it,” he said at Kavete Township in Makueni County.