A civil society organization official has expressed concerns over middlemen exploiting maize farmers in South Nyanza during this harvesting season.
Homa Bay County Civil Society Organization Network Vice Chairman Japhet Ojijo said although farmers were expecting good harvests, middlemen were positioning themselves to make a kill from the produce.
He noted that the middlemen were beginning to pitch tent in markets in the region, sparking an alarm over the future of food security in the region.
Ojijo said farmers in the region were expecting good yields of maize, beans, peanut and other crops but were vulnerable to exploitation if middlemen were allowed to infiltrate cereal markets.
The matter has also attracted the attention of Rangwe MP Lilian Gogo who urged farmers to avoid selling their produce at throw-away prices.
The MP warned that a serious food shortage will affect residents if the produce being harvested is not conserved.
“I urge residents not to fall into the trap of middlemen. Selling the produce anyhow will cause a serious shortage of food,” Gogo said.
She told farmers that they will regret if they sell cereals at throw away only for the prices to double later.
“Let our farmers know that maize shortage will still occur. I don’t want our people to be caught off guard when the problem occurs. Let us conserve the produce we have harvested,” Dr Gogo added.
Ojijo expressed concerns that farmers had begun selling their maize to middlemen from other counties.
He said the situation puts food security in limbo.
“I don’t know the fate of food security in our county due to the action of middlemen who want to cause food shortage,” Ojijo said.
He hailed the county government’s project of distributing fertilizers with the aim of improving harvest.
He urged Deputy Governor Oyugi Magwanga who is the County Executive for Agriculture to put in place measures to control wanton sale of agricultural produce.
“We urge the county department of agriculture to intervene with measures for preventing the sale of agricultural produce in our county,” said Ojijo.
By Davis Langat
