Did I see the boss of midlands standing next to Kimunya in court? All I know is that the Russians had recently developed a keen interest in Nyandarua's potato farming.
To quote
Quote:‘’Midlands is a farmers enterprise and a classic example of how much they can do if they are well organized and supported. Shareholders comprise of farmers and farmers’ self help groups. There is at present some 7,000 farmers holding shares directly or indirectly in Midlands.
Midlands has been buying potatoes at Ksh 14/kg (equal to ksh 2240 per a bag of 160kg) compared to middlemen who buy at Ksh1500 for a bag that weighs 180kg. The extra huge bag has since been banned but the practise is still on. Kamutu says some farmers who don’t wish to wait to get their cash opts for middlemen who in turn extort them pretending that since the quality is not good, the size of the bag will reduce once the potatoes are selected and bad ones thrown away.
Being peasant farmers, most of people in this region were reluctant to deal with Midlands due to their paying system. The company collects the produce from the farm gate and records all the details of each and every farmer but pays after seven days through their banks accounts. Kamutu says the numbers has increased and most farmers have realized the benefits of such a payment system. “My bank account is active and if I were to approach the bank for a loan, the credit manager will most likely heed my request,” he says.
As Kamutu reveals, Midlands Ltd is at the final stages of signing contracts with the farmers in an agreement where the company will be supplying clean seeds, fertilizers and other farm inputs. This will help in consistency of the produce in terms of quality and the required sizes. Joseph Karanja, another farmer working with Midlands says the seeds distributed by the company are of high quality compared to what he used to plant in yester years. “Since I started planting the seeds given by the company, my yields have increased significantly yet I can’t say I have increased the land under the crop,” Karanja says.
I met the female rep of nyandarua in an expo last yr.and she was very keen on initiating development projects in in partnership with investors.
Now my questions.
1. Who is the aggrieved party? is it the farmers who own shares in stolen property?
2. How did they get to this level of owning shares since the whole process was illegal.
3. What is the future of midlands and the farmers who supply potatoes?