The Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF), has appealed to women to join the organization and access free legal support among other benefits.
The Secretary for KENAFF, Mrs. Rhonda Kilonzi, said among the many benefits that farmers get from the organization was free legal support in case their products are not paid for by buyers.
She added the giant organization has the capacity of making demands to the government, especially on the prices of inputs such as fertilizers, and hence the more the numbers the better the bargaining power.
Interviewed by KNA, today, at their offices in Nakuru City, she said it was disheartening that small-scale farmers who are mainly women were not members attributing the scenario to lack of awareness of the importance of the organization.
She said they only register groups and not individuals at Sh3000 annually adding that group work was extremely popular among women farmers who have always pulled their meagre resources together to uplift their families.
“However, a number of them perceive KENAFF as an organization for large-scale farmers, which is not true at all,” she said adding they are a non-political, non-profit making and democratic member-based umbrella for all farmers in Kenya.
Additionally, she said they articulate the voice of farmers at all levels of governance, and ensures farmers’ thinking is built into relevant government policies and lobbies county governments for appropriate budgetary allocations for agricultural growth in the country.
By Veronica Bosibori
