The government will vigorously defend new potato regulations, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has said.
Kiunjuri told those who moved to court last week to block the implementation of the regulation that the government is ready to face them there.
He said brokers will not be allowed to take advantage of and mint millions of shilling at the expense of farmers.
“The potato regulation that I gazetted in May ensures that farmers get the full value for their sweat. The extended bags must be completely eliminated in favour of the 50kg bags,” he said.
The CS said his officials will prepare and forward reports to him daily to ensure the brokers will not be able to break the law and go unpunished.
“Where do you get your rights that now cut my freedom? Because where your freedom ends, my freedom starts there. And as a farmer, you must allow me my freedoms also,” he said.
He noted that there has been an improvement in potato production in Nyandarua and parts of Nyeri counties.
In 2018 potato farmers in Nyandarua and parts of Nyeri produced about 110,000 metric tons valued at Sh2 billion as compared to 80,000 metric tons valued at Sh1.6 billion in 2017.
He called on the county government of Nyeri and other county governments in potato growing areas to fully implement the regulation.
On climate change, Kiunjuri called on farmers to embrace the interventions such as crop and livestock insurance to cushion them from losses.
He said several such insurance covers have been in existence and have been piloted in a number of counties including Nyeri but only a few farmers are taking them up.
He said the hailstorms that hit Nyeri last week translated to losses to farmers but farmers who had insurance will be fully compensated.
(edited by O. Owino)
