Farmers in the Uasin Gishu District are making losses as post-election violence continues to paralyse agriculture in the area.
Passionfruit farmers in Eldoret, Kenya, are losing four million Kenya shillings (KES) per week after they failed to reach key markets, because of the violence in the region. The Kenya Horticultural Development Programme (KHDP) has said that tonnes of passionfruit were going to waste due to lack of buyers. The Eldoret region has become a major source of purple passion fruit for export for the past three years.
But even as the North Rift growers count their losses, farmers in Central Kenya have been left to supply the overstretched demand Nairobi.
Kenya produces about 40,650 metric tonnes of passionfruits every year with 36 per cent of total output coming from the Rift Valley. In the North Rift, the produce is currently selling at a price of KES20 (14p) per kilo at the farmgate, compared to an average price of KES30 earned in January last year.
Passionfruit prices tend to drop in January, but pick up in March because of the demand from the international market. During peak season, prices rise up to KES70 per kilo at the farmgate. Domestic buyers and processors therefore rely on the January - March season to meet their targets.
KHDP, a programme that seeks to improve production among small-holder passionfruit farmers, has also established that, as well as not being able to reach their customers, some farmers are also unable to access pest control products from Agro dealers. This is leading to further losses in the farms. The agronomists and other agricultural extension officers are also unable to reach the farms.
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