Horticulture farmers in Karachuonyo Constituency have decried the shortage of Agricultural Extension Officers to help them curb the challenges they experience in their farms.
The farmers led by George Ishmael Owaga, a horticulture farmer since 1992, urged the county government to ensure that the officers visit their farms whenever they are needed.
He said horticultural crops especially fruits required specialized attention because of pest attacks.
“Fruits that we grow are very vulnerable to worms but unfortunately, we are not able to access the agricultural officers whenever we need them. Some of them even ask for transport reimbursements to visit farmers,” said Owaga.
He also added that the prices of the drugs they use on vegetables and fruits to get rid of worms have risen, hence, making the cost of production high.
Job Oloo, another farmer, lamented that they undergo several challenges including market price fluctuations.
He said sometimes, the production is high but the demand is very low. They requested the government to provide them with solar dryers to help them dry vegetables for local and export markets.
“Our big problem is the changes in the market price. Sometimes, we have high production and face marketing challenges,” said Oloo.
On her side, Evaline Achieng, a tomato seller, called for support for the horticulture sector saying they is always a market for the produce if value addition was done.
She added that the vendors and other marketers should build good working relation with the farmers for the benefit of all.
“It becomes easy for us to share our challenges with the farmers for improvement, because in horticulture, we deal with them directly,” said Achieng’.
