A section of farmers across semi-arid area of Mwingi North Sub-county in Kyuso ward who practice chilli farming along Thunguthu River have suffered losses amounting to 11 million shillings due to Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the EU on chili exportation.
Mwendwa Kimanzi, specialized in growing the Bird’s Eye chilli variety which is highly consumed in parts of Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom said that all was well until March 2021 when the Covid-19 global gap restrictions were imposed which denied their crops any entry into the European Union markets. In preCovid-19 days, Mwendwa was not bothered by the market as buyers came for the crop at the farm for export to the ready European market.
According to him, European consumers prefer chilli when it is green before it ripens and turns red. The product is now a waste for it is over ripe and, in that state, it has no market.
According to farmers they are stuck with 144 tons of chili with no market.
They have watched the crop turn red and dry up. Some farmers have been forced to uproot their cash crop and plant other crops that are easy to sell locally. They are now left with no choice other than to change their line of farming.
Kitui governor Charity Ngilu who had visited chilli farmers said that chili that had turned red will be bought by the county government and processed to make chili sauce.
She also said solar-powered irrigation will be introduced to cut the high costs incurred using petrol generators in pumping water to the farms. She said solar-powered irrigation has worked marvelously in other areas.