By Karanja Njoroge
The Pyrethrum Sector is headed for radical changes following major recommendations by a team appointed to come up with ways of reviving the ailing industry.
The team is calling for the liberalisation of the sector to allow new players to compete with the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK).
"In the envisaged changes, PBK will be a private company owned by farmers and will compete with other licensed players," said Mr Argwings Gem Kodhek who heads the team.
"We have already handed our suggestions to the Government on staff rationalisation and the package," said the Managing Director.
The team’s mandate, which was to end this month has been extended by three months to enable it implement some of the recommendations and fine-tune other areas The team, however, says it needs more cash to turn around the sector. It cites low confidence levels on the part of farmers as the major challenge facing revival of the sector, with more than 60,000 farmers abandoning the crop due to lack of payment.
Farmers’ payment
Kodhek said their main priority was to ensure farmers are paid within six weeks after delivery to boost their morale. The board owes farmers more than Sh70 million in arrears for crop delivered many years back.In the last three months, farmers have been paid Sh17 million and the team has announced it will release an additional Sh7 million in two weeks.
The Managing Director said the board has been seeking ways to access key markets in America and Europe. He said the overall aim is to increase pyrethrum production from 800 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes by next year.
