Nakuru wheat farmers threaten to abandon crop for maize

Wheat farmers in Nakuru have vowed to scale down their acreage this season due to the influx of imported wheat in the country, which has hindered their offtake at a better market price.

The farmers under the Cereal Growers Association, blame local millers who have prioritized cheap imports over their wheat during harvest seasons, despite a prior agreement to buy from them at Sh. 5,300 for grade one and Sh. 5,200 for grade two for the 24/25 season.

Stephen Kamau laments that this season he plans to do only 50 acres and sadly that will be divided to 30 acres of wheat and 20 acres of maize.

The farmer who grows between 100-200 acres of wheat says he has been left with about 500 bags of grain in storage this season.

 “Whatever is happening has put many farmers including me at a stalemate. Imagine if I had planted maize last season, I’d at least have some money helping me to stay afloat as I wait for the market to stabilize. Now I am just at a loss,” he says disappointedly.

He explains that he and other farmers have been forced to sell their wheat between Sh. 3,500-4,500 to brokers and other traders in the informal markets.

Worse off, some of these traders request cleaner (grade 1) wheat and want it at the market which when he calculates costs he is more at a loss than he was before they decided to buy from him.

Amina Mohammed, a wheat farmer in Njoro, on the other hand, says she’s sought other crop alternatives with lower costs of production and average to higher returns compared to that of wheat which is estimated to be about Sh. 30,000 per acre.

“I had to scale from 200 acres of wheat last year to 100 acres due to the challenges we are facing with offsetting our produce. Wheat is expensive as it is to establish and it breaks my heart that after all the work and money I’ve put into the only trade I’ve known I'm unable to break even,” Amina protests.

She adds that this when topped with the effects of climate change lowers the quality of their wheat attracting poor market prices.

For that reason, she says she has ventured into canola farming and many farmers are following suit with others opting for beans and even potatoes.

Nakuru produces about 450,000 tons of wheat under 12,500 acres annually.

It is also the second most produced crop in the country but farmers fear the sector is leaning towards a total collapse if things don’t change for the better soon.