This archive report was first published on 24 October 2019.
Published on October 24, 2019, a glut of muguka in the market has led to heavy losses for farmers and traders in Embu County.
During the rainy season, the crop flowers abundantly, resulting in a bountiful harvest that causes prices to crash.
At the Kamuketha muguka wholesale market in Embu town, one kilogram of the stimulant was selling for Sh20 as of last Tuesday night, a far cry from the Sh1,500 traders were earning during the dry season.
Traders like Cecily Kariuki were forced to throw away their stock due to lack of market, having bought the stimulant for between Sh50 and Sh100.
However, some farmers like Irene Muthoni have benefited from the crop, making a killing last month.
According to Muthoni, the supply of muguka is low during dry months because the crop needs a lot of water, and only farmers who can irrigate their crops benefit.
On the other hand, traders and farmers like Marclus Kinyua attribute the improved living standards in the region to muguka farming.
Before earning a decent income from muguka farming, many people in the region lived in mud houses and had poor earnings from crops like cotton and tobacco in the 1990s.
