KAPENGURIA: Sheep farmers in the highland areas of Pokot South Sub County have called on the government to regulate wool prices in order to control exploitation by middlemen.
The farmers decried that they sell a kilogram of wool from there merino sheep which they rear at Sh 200 only yet the cost of production was high.
One of the farmers from Lelan division, Solomon Kura who has a flock of 20 grade M1 merino sheep said the venture was getting less profitable with the influx of middlemen and low wool prices.
He observed that the prices of a kilogram of wool should be increased to at least Sh 500 for the farmers to reap better from the ventures.
"One sheep gives me three kilograms of wool on average but due to the vagaries of weather and decreased resistant of the sheep to pests and diseases we get less wool lately," he noted.
Kura who disclosed that he recently earned only Sh 4,000 after selling wool from his 20 sheep called for intervention by the department of agriculture to aid them get better breeds.
Muruny Cooperative Society chairman Richard Loduye asked sheep farmers to join the union in order to do away with middlemen and have better bargaining power for their wool.
He however pointed out that farmers in the region have been trying to control mites that cause bacterial diseases which has been the greatest challenge in the venture.
Loduye said the department of livestock has been promising to help tackle the challenge in vain and urged the officers in charge to speed up with the plans.
He disclosed that about 7,000 sheep are sheared each year most of which is sold to a company in Eldoret township.
Area member of county assembly Paul Yaraki called on the livestock department to help farmers get better sheep breeds since most of them exchanged amongst themselves to interbreed.
He further challenged the county and national governments to upgrade roads that link the produce from the region to outside markets.
"The roads get slippery during rainy seasons and both dairy and wool farmers from this region experience great challenges in delivering their produce to markets," he disclosed.
But a wool classer, Geoffrey Meribo from one of the wool buying companies in Eldoret advised farmers to observe hygiene so that there produce can fetch better prices.
He challenged them to rear more merino sheep citing that wool has huge demand and further asked the farmers to deworm their sheep regularly to avoid infections that tend to lower wool production.
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Most of the sheep farmers in the region rear merino grade M1 and C1 sheep which are shaved at about one year intervals.
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