Potato farmers, processors and transporters from the agriculture-rich area of Kinangop in Nyandarua County are headed to court to have the Irish potato regulations suspended.
The group has issued a 21 day notice to the national and Nyandarua county governments to have the ‘unlawful, irregular and oppressive’ implementation of the regulations nullified.
They noted that Nyandarua accounted for 30 percent of potatoes produced in the country, adding that sections of the new law were unconstitutional.
The move comes barely a fortnight after a consortium of agriculture experts accused some seed producers of being the brains behind the potato and the bee keeping Acts.
According to High Court advocate George Kimani, the farmers and transporters were concerned over the manner that the county government was implementing the act.
Speaking in Dinda town after meeting the affected parties, Kimani who is also a farmer noted that the implementation of the act had paralyzed potato harvesting and sales.
“This Act is subjecting farmers and traders to financial loss while the implementation agencies that include police and county officers are harassing and enforcing punitive fines,” he said.
Addressing the press after meeting the affected groups, he noted that the police and the county enforcement officers were demanding non-existent permits.
“The court penalties are excessive, intimidating and unconstitutional and pose the risk of impoverishing genuine farmers from Nyandarua which contributed 30 percent of production,”
He added that the farmers through the Nyandarua South potato dealers and Haki Jamii were ready to go to court to have the act criminalized potato farming.
Kimani added that it was imperative to form a Potato Board of Kenya to regulate research, seed production, marketing, value addition and establishment of a processing plant.
“Farmers, transporters and processors want a ceasefire in arrest by the police and county officers’ failure to which we shall go to court to have the act suspended,” he said.
The chairman Nyandarua South potato dealers Mark Wahome warned that the harsh act could lead to a drop in potato production.
He noted that the farmers were in fear due to the harassment by the county enforcement officers and the police over tens of rules that they were supposed to follow.
“The law requires we register and get licenses from the county to ferry the produce among other punitive laws and this is killing the sector that employs thousands,” he said.
This was echoed by a farmer Samuel Kiarie who noted that farming potato now bordered criminality in a region that knew no other cash crop.
“The law will kill the production of potatoes in the county and the livelihood of farmers who for years have relied on this crop,” he said.