Eastern-Senate Agriculture committee holds public participation on mung beans bill 2022 in Mwingi.
The Senate Agriculture,livestock and fisheries committee led by the chair James Kamau have led a public participation exercise in areas of Mwingi North that largely indulge in green grams farming on the mung beans bills.
Locals from Tseikuru and Ngomeni areas of Mwingi North sub county indulged in the public participation forum in a bid to better lives of farmers of the green grams.
The bill is act of Parliament to provide for the development,regulation and promotion of the mung beans sector and for connected purposes.
Victor Kirharya,a farmer urged the bill to include distribution of the best pesticides to the farmers to maintain the quality and quantity of the crops.
“Our roads are also so poor and the connectivity to the market is a major challenge, we also want better roads in our area,” he added
Thay have also decried the poor price of the commodity where they sell a kilo of the green grams up to 30 shillings per kilo.
“We need the government to source a proper market for us and do away with brokers,” Munanye Kimanzi, another farmer said.
The locals also said the bill should include the formation of cooperatives of the farmers in a bid to better their market bargain and also benefit from loans.
“We need the bill to capture value addition to the crop, we need to package it here also for creation of jobs to the community,” Munanye Muli, another local added.
Senator Kiio Wambua, who has sponsored the bill said it includes a clause where the government will buy the crops from farmers to aid in school feeding programs and to defense officers too.
Kiio added that farmers will also be registered for easier access and benefit of extension services adding it will be a joint venture between the county and the national assembly.
The chair, who is also the Kirinyaga Senator,said the bill intends to make dengu a cash crop that will compete even in the international markets.
He said bearing the area is so dry,he will push for a mega dam to be sunk in the area.
“Irrespective of our political dimensions, we have to unite for the betterment of the locals,” he said.
He also urged the MPs to pass the bill once it’s tabled on the floor of the assembly.
The area locals said they plant different varieties of green grams raging from Nylon, kamrembo, biashara, ordinary not doing so well.
Those present in the event included, the Vice Chair Alexander Mundigi who is also Embu senator, Bungoma Senator David Wakoli
ODM Nominated Senator, Beth Syengo, Tseikuru MCA,Kimanzi Muange among other leaders.
