This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
Kenyan Farmers Turn to Muguka for Higher Earnings ¶
As drought and erratic weather wreak havoc across rural Kenya, a growing number of farmers are switching from traditional crops like maize and rice to the more lucrative muguka, a potent herbal stimulant.
Albert Njeru, a 45-year-old farmer from Kanyuambora village in central Kenya, is one of them. He has abandoned his maize and bean fields to grow muguka, which he claims earns him Sh30,000 ($290) in just one week.
"Muguka gives me a lot of money. Farming maize or beans used to give me losses," Njeru said.
According to Francis Kimori, chairman of the Mbeere Muguka Farmers Sacco, four out of every five households in the Mount Kenya region are farming muguka in some quantity. Many have upgraded from mud huts to modern stone houses, he said.
However, agriculture experts and local politicians have warned of a potential food crop shortage as farmers clear their fields of staples to make way for muguka.
"Farmers are not interested in growing maize anymore. They want money in their pockets. Muguka is giving them that and a lot more," said Martin Mwangi, a member of Embu County's assembly.
But he cautioned that the long-term consequences could lead to food insecurity due to reduced production.
Environmentalists and lawmakers have also voiced concerns over the impact of the stimulant cultivation boom on forests.
"If the forest is already suffering because of grazing and bhang, it will not be long before we see muguka growing in the forest," said Ngai M'Uboro, chairman of the Atiriri Bururi ma Chuka community conservation group.
On August 12, 2019, at 15:06, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported that muguka's potency is also making the authorities uncomfortable. In 2018, legislators in Mombasa and Kwale counties lobbied unsuccessfully for a sales and consumption ban on muguka over fears of addiction among young people.
