Miraa farmers threaten “action now” over pennies from the government

Miraa farmers in Embu have threatened to move to court and push for their share of the Sh1 billion meant for improving production.

The farmers complained that the region was only given Sh167 million while Meru got the lion’s share.

Through their Mberembu Union, the farmers issued a three-day ultimatum to the government to ensure equal distribution of the funds failure to which they will seek legal redress.

“Farmers from Meru received Sh670 million but those from this region got peanuts,” said Dionisia Nduma, a Mberembu Union member. The farmers demanded that the government ensures fairness in sharing out the money. “If our demands are not met we will not hesitate to take legal action,” said Pius Njiru, another member.

The farmers said they had been treated as second class growers and they would fight until their demands are met. They also complained that they were not well represented in the Miraa Technical Implementation Committee.

They said that they had only two representatives on the committee against Meru’s 11.

“We were under-represented and this explains why we were allocated less funds. The number should also be equal,” Silas Njue, another union member, said.

The farmers called for the dissolution of the committee and formation of a new one where all farmers will be equally represented. They also criticised the committee for reducing projects for Embu farmers.

The farmers said they had agreed with the committee that they should be provided with five bore holes but they were reduced to two without consultations. The boreholes, they said, will be located in churches, schools and chiefs’ camps where most community members will not be able to access them.

“We want the boreholes to be sank in our farms where we can utilise them properly but not in these institutions which are far away,” said Josphat Njue.

The farmers also want investigations into allegations of plans to inflate the cost of the boreholes and water pans in a bid to steal funds.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *