Horticulture farmers are pushing for payment of more than Sh12 billion in VAT refunds saying the delay has greatly affected their operations.
Through the Agricultural Employers Association (AEA), they said that the situation has been worsened by rising taxes and the recent heavy rains that damaged crops worth millions.
They are now asking the government to come up with a fund to cushion farmers who lost their crops in the recent rains after investing heavily on fertiliser, seeds and manpower.
The association's chief executive officer Wesley Siele said some farmers have been forced to scale down production due to the financial crisis and increased production costs.
He said that the VAT refund would come in handy adding that the last time the government paid the farmers was in 2020 at the height of Covid-19 pandemic
“The government owes farmers over Sh12 billion billion in VAT refunds and this can be used to expand the sector and create more job opportunities,” he said.
Speaking at the association's 61st Annual General Meeting in Naivasha, Siele said the rains had caused massive destruction raising concerns of food security.
“We are calling for a voice of reason in the plans to increase the minimum wage bill as currently many farmers are facing harsh economic times,” he said.
The association's chairman Kirimi Mpungu faulted sections of the Finance Bill, which sought to impose new taxes on farmers.
He said the sector remains one of the country's economic drivers yet areas like livestock farming continue to receive minimal attention despite the high potential.
Outgoing chairman Stephen Strong decried the new taxes being introduced by the government against a rise in the cost of production.
“Currently the biggest challenge facing the agricultural sector is high cost of production and new taxes targeting small scale farmers and this could kill farming,” he said.
Justice Fred Ochieng who was the key speaker during the meeting rooted for the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism in resolving tens of cases involving employers and their workers.
“We have come to learn that this mechanism is very effective in resolving disputes mainly in the agriculture sector where we have disputes around wages and working conditions,” he said.
