Govt set to devolve pyrethrum sector CS Bett

The Ministry of Agriculture will from Monday next week embark on the process of finalizing devolution of the pyrethrum sector to separate the regulatory role and the manufacturing role.

Speaking in Nakuru during a meeting with pyrethrum sector stakeholders, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett said the move will be essential in ensuring revival of the once lucrative sector.

According to the CS, the regulatory role will be left to the Agriculture Fisheries and Food Authority (AFFA) while the processing sector will be managed by Nakuru County Government.

CS Bett has also pledged support for the sector, emphasizing that the former Pyrethrum Board of Kenya, which is now the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya remains fully owned by the farmers adding that farmers will have a more participatory role in countering the problems facing the sector under the management of Nakuru County Government.

“As a matter of urgency, the government will prioritize payment of arrears owned to pensioners as well as Ksh 25 million owned to retrenchees as ordered by the Labour and Industrial Court,” said Bett.

“The need to increase pyrethrum production has been driven by the current plant has the capacity to process 25 tons of dry flowers in a day while farmers only deliver 200 to 300 tons of flowers annually.”

Nakuru Governor, KinuthiaMbugua, who also attended the function, accepted a request by the  CS to spearhead mobilization of governors from 18 pyrethrum growing counties to take part in revitalizing the sector saying that his government has taken the sector seriously given its notable economic input nationally.

The Ministry of Agriculture is set to announce a date when a more comprehensive meeting between the government and pyrethrum stakeholders will be convened.