By James Munyeki
Kenya: The sacking of Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK) Managing Director Dr Isaack Mulagoli has been received well by farmers.
The farmers have termed the action by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix Koskei long overdue.
In Nyandarua and Nakuru counties, pyrethrum farmers now want the new Managing Director, Alfred Busolo, to call for immediate elections for the board of directors. This is after a two-year wait for a board to to manage the sector.
Single handedly
Speaking during a tour of Nyandarua County Thursday, Pyrethrum Growers Association chairman Samuel Kihiu said it was high time new directors were elected.
According to the Pyrethrum Act, six out of the eleven directors should be elected by farmers.
“We are happy that our wish has been granted but we now call on the new managing director to call for immediate election of the farmers’ representatives. This will ensure proper management of the board,” he said.
Kihiu said farmers from pyrethrum growing counties were now willing to invest in the sector following the change.
“It was unwise for the former managing director to run the board without a board of directors. Farmers are now happy that there is new leadership in the sector that was near collapse,” he said.
He welcomed the government’s assurance that farmers would be paid their dues, which amount to over Sh55 million. The board last paid farmers in May.
Invest in sector
The Nyandarua Pyrethrum Growers Association chairman Francis Mwangi called on the Cabinet Secretary to repeal the Pyrethrum Act to allow liberalisation.
Mwangi said the collapse of the sector had been prompted by PBK’s monopoly.
“This way, the sector will grow as more investors will be attracted. The collapse has been caused by poor management of the board,” he said.
Already, he added, some foreign investors had expressed willingness to invest in the pyrethrum sector.
One of them is Highchem Limited, which intends to build a multimillion shilling industry in the county.
According to Mwangi, the company has made the necessary preparations, including providing free seedlings for farmers, and is waiting for the government’s amendment to the Act before liberalisation.
