By Kamundia Muriithi
More than 2,000 green grams farmers in Makima area of Embu County have come together to form a co-operative society to help in marketing of the crop following a bumper harvest.
They intend to start the co-operative by donating a 90 kilogramme bag of green grams each. A bag currently sells at about Sh6, 000 in the nearby Kiritiri market.
According to Nzau Mwendo, a farmer and one of the proponents of the co-operative, all the donations will be sold to a market that offers the best price, with the proceeds being used as startup capital to establish and manage the society.
He said the move was necessitated by the need to have strong bargaining power in the market as well as lock out brokers. “After two seasons, we will have a strong society with a healthy financial base. The co-operative will then start giving out farm inputs such as fertilizer, farm chemicals and equipment to be repaid later. Farmers will also be able to get low interest loans to uplift themselves,” he said during a farmers meeting in the area.
Makima Ward representative Philip Nzangi supported the move saying he will liaise with the county agriculture department to have a silo for the storage of the cereals constructed in the area.
