Monday, 12 May, 2025
Senate Agriculture Committee engages Bungoma county on Agricultural Development challenges
Bungoma CountySaturday ,10th May 2025
The Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, chaired by Senator David Wafula Wakoli (Bungoma), conducted an oversight visit to Bungoma County to evaluate ongoing agricultural initiatives and engage with local stakeholders on sectoral challenges.
The Committee first paid a courtesy call to the County Governor Kenneth Lusaka who was accompanied by Members of the County Assembly Agriculture Committee and the County Department of Agriculture emphasized on the crucial role of the Senate committee in ensuring transparency, accountability and effective oversight of agricultural development programmes.
The Committee proceeded to hold stakeholder engagements with various farmers who raised several critical issues affecting agricultural productivity and livelihoods in the region. These included:
• High cost of inputs, particularly animal and poultry feeds.
• Low market prices for produce, especially coffee.
• Inadequate storage capacity, with milk and coffee coolers unable to meet demand.
• Limited extension services, with many farmers reporting a lack of support from agricultural officers.
• Exclusion from the fertilizer subsidy programme, especially among coffee farmers, as the program largely targets maize producers.
• Poor management of cooperative societies and SACCOs, leading to inefficiencies and erosion of farmer trust.
• Exploitation by middlemen and brokers, who purchase produce at low prices and resell at high margins locally and across the Uganda border.
• Rampant theft of harvested coffee, with much of the stolen produce reportedly trafficked into Uganda.
• Weak regulatory oversight of cooperatives.
The Committee urged the County Assembly to intensify its oversight responsibilities to ensure that all agriculture-related programs are implemented effectively and equitably.
Sites visited included Kaptama Dairy Cooperative Society – Milk Cooling Plant, Kaptama Coffee Cooperative, Kaptama Coffee Factory, Dairy Farmers in Kaptama, Kibisi Coffee Factory, Menu Coffee Factory – Sirisia and Chesikaki Coffee Factory
The Committee reiterated its commitment to consolidating the issues raised during the visit and pursuing appropriate solutions through legislative, policy and oversight interventions.