This archive report was first published on 7 May 2020.
As the country grapples with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chairman of Farmers' Association South Rift, Justus Monda, has called on farmers in former pyrethrum growing counties to revive the industry by supplying seedlings to farmers.
Speaking during a press conference in Nakuru town on Wednesday, Monda noted that pyrethrum is a cash crop in high demand due to its use in the production of natural insecticides and pesticides, making it an ideal time to increase acreage.
According to Monda, the pyrethrum industry used to earn the country Sh20 billion annually in the 1990s, but the amount has reduced to a mere Sh15 million per year due to laxity in payment of resultant earnings. However, former farmers remain nostalgic about the flowers, as they have never earned as much from other ventures such as dairy, maize, and Irish potatoes.
With a number of Chinese companies ready to contract farmers to grow the flowers for their factories, Monda urged former pyrethrum growing counties to hasten the growing and supplying of seedlings before the rains dwindled, saying they would forever be remembered as governors who assisted the country to revive the economy during a serious pandemic.
As the country seeks strategic thinkers to salvage it from imminent economic collapse, Monda believes that pyrethrum has the capacity to assist such advisors in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
