This archive report was first published on 20 December 2021.
Published on December 20, 2021, a multi-million shilling export deal between Mukombelo farmers from Kakamega County and a French firm is now in jeopardy.
The root, also known as Mukombera, has become scarce at the local market, causing its price to skyrocket.
Only a handful of farmers can manage to source the root, making it difficult for the deal to proceed as planned.
The deal, signed between Kanfcco, a local conservation group, and Mansfield, a French multinational, aimed to export over 100,000 metric tons of the precious root every year starting 2022.
However, residents of Shinyalu, the bedrock of the root, are speaking out against the deal, citing concerns over the scarcity of Mukombelo at the local market.
"Since our farmers signed the deal a few weeks ago, there has been a major drop in the supply of Mukombelo at the local market. This is unfortunate," said Caleb Makatiani, a resident of Shinyalu.
"Mukombelo is our heritage and we cannot be starved, just because of a deal with a foreign country," added Sospeter Kulecho, another resident.
