Farmers set to benefit

Farmers set to benefit

Embu, 14th March 2011

Farmers in Embu East are set to benefit with better prices of their farm produce after Techno Serve opened a market service Center in Runyenjes town.

The market center will act as a bulk point where farmers will bring their farm produce for onward transmission to various outlets in the country.

Speaking during the official opening of the center, Regional Manager Techno Serve Henry Kinyua said the market has been set to assist the farmers work in groups for better prices in the market.

Kinyua said working as a group will give farmers more bargaining power and control of the market unlike where they worked individually there before.

He said the government should take it as a task to encourage the public to diversify on their food consumption instead of depending on only one type of food like maize.

Techno-serve, a non profit development organization has been advising farmers to venture into commercial farming of tissue culture bananas in Embu East.

He said they build the center to encourage farmers not to sell their produce to middlemen but to deal with buying outlets which are offering better prices.

“You should avoid dealing with the brokers and instead come together in groups and target reliable buyers including supermarkets and honest individual banana traders who are ready to offer you reasonable price for the popular fruit,’’ Kinyua said.

The representative said their mission is to help small scale farmers to improve their living standard and create income for them and their families.

Techno-serve has trained several groups of banana farmers on productivity and marketing of the produce as well as venturing into new outlets.

Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire who was the chief guest during the occasion pleaded with the farmers group to give the current official time to manage the market without interferences.

She said farmers organizations in the district have in the past disintegrated not for lack of market for their produce but due to poor governance.


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