THE STANDARD By
Kevine Omollo |
January 17th 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Rice farmers at Ahero Irrigation Scheme stuck due to lack of market. [Collins Oduor, Standard]
For the past five months, Vitalis Okuta has been making countless trips from his home in Ombeyi to Western Kenya Rice Mills, three kilometres away at National Irrigation Authority in Ahero.
He makes the trips to find out whether the government plans to buy tonnes of rice farmers like him have at the mills storage facilities.
But last week, Okuta and some 600 farmers were shocked to receive news that the government said its stores were full and it could not buy more rice from farmers.
THE STANDARD By
Kevine Omollo |
January 14th 2021 at 10:54:51 GMT +0300
Bags of rice in a store at the Ahero irrigation scheme due to lack of market. (PHOTO: Collins Oduor)
KISUMU, KENYA: For the past five months, Vitalis Okuta has been making countless trips from his home in Ombeyi to Western Kenya Rice Mills, situated three kilometres away within National Irrigation Authority (NIA) premises in Ahero.
His trips are aimed at getting updates on the government’s progress in acquiring the tens of tons of rice farmers have stored at the mills.
But last week, Okuta was among the over 600 farmers who got the shock of their lives after the government claimed that its stores were full and could not purchase any more rice from them.