Another Kenyatta Legacy: China Floods Kenya With Onions

[Omollo]

• Tweet

Uhuru kenyatta shouldn't spend sleepless nights worrying about his legacy. Such things like water find their own way and level. Take onions for example:

#saynotochineseonions

Depressing.  How on earth do you support local famers when we allow China to run rings around us. Are we some diamond mining or oil producing nation ? We now eat  onions from china @maina_betty@PeterMunya@StateHouseKenya . https://t.co/bpjjdmPOrC

— Mohammed Hersi : Mr Optimist (@mohammedhersi) June 16, 2021

?s=19

Yet if there's a product Kenya excels in production it's the onion. So many now going bad in farms in Bungoma & transnzoia having lost the competition against Chinese.

[Dear Mami]

I saw a somewhat similar report on France24 but it was Zambia and the chicken market. The govt responded with protectionist laws to shield their local farmers and markets from the Chinese producers and businessmen. We should do the same. We identify markets where we simply do not allow foreigners to come in and overwhelm our local producers.

[Kadudu]

I really wonder what African leaders are doing when such commodities like onions which can be grown locally have to be imported from China. Even importing them form neighbouring countries would make more sense than this.
I pressume the importers do not pay custom duty and hence able to import cheaply to be able to compete with lcoally produced onions.

[RV Pundit]

Farmers should be protected but more importantly we have to improve our productivity; unless China is dumping; our productivity is very low;

Solution-  fertilizers.

[Arcadian_Dreamer]

As we stated before the dragon will come for its pound of flesh in due time. China already decimated the local manufacturing industry, now they will destroy our last viable industry - agriculture. While it sycophants sings it praises it is systematically disassembling the local economy.

Where is that miscreant bat soup loving china fangirl, dear mami? Look at your people. Shenzi type.

[Dear Mami]

Where is that miscreant bat soup loving china fangirl, dear mami? Look at your people. Shenzi type.

It's not China, it's Chinese immigrants. Yaani, individual people. The problem is your govt not supporting or protecting your farmers or upholding its laws. Chinese govt doesn't feature anywhere. I'd refer you to the France24 discussion re Zambia if I had hopes you'd nyita, but you are a genuine specimen of a silly human being. I mean, you literally would die if your life depended on your working things out logically.

[Wa Njambi]

Fyi - When loocking at anything China/Zambia, always keep in mind that China and Zambia have a relationship that is far different from that of China and any other country in Africa and perhaps the world. Their relationship goes back to Independence day of Zambia and is deep rooted. That is why we hear of China taking over this or that in Zambia.

I saw a somewhat similar report on France24 but it was Zambia and the chicken market. The govt responded with protectionist laws to shield their local farmers and markets from the Chinese producers and businessmen. We should do the same. We identify markets where we simply do not allow foreigners to come in and overwhelm our local producers.

[Georgesoros]

You mean Kenya doesnt have farmers?
How did this happen?
Don't they need a licence to import?
Too many questions.

[RV Pundit]

WTO - why is it big deal when get onions from China - while we import oranges and many such things from South Africa and Egypt.
The problem is low productivity.
Short term is to protect farmers? But where are Onion farmers - every know it's mostly got from Tanzania.

Protect the farmer. Punish the consumers who have to buy expensive food. Dicey.

Best is to tell our farmers the truth. If planting onions is a problem - plant avacados or something we can be competitive.

You mean Kenya doesnt have farmers?
How did this happen?
Don't they need a licence to import?
Too many questions.

[Omollo]

Kenyan entrepreneurs should exploit it. They can buy equipment from Alibaba and start making whiskey from the onions. They'll make very high quality whiskeys at a sinfully low cost.

They can also replace the molasses plant by supplying breweries. Of course Uhuru Kenyatta will send KRA to demand taxes they allegedly failed to pay just before the 2nd World War broke out

[gout]

Farmers should use their land for what is profitable. Onions are uneconomical crop. A kilo barely goes past 40 per kilo farm gate rarely breaking even. Requires intense irrigation, fertilizer, spraying, harvesting costs, drying.

A genuine land audit would help but it is impractical given vested interests by the powerful land grabbers. Such an audit would show how we are using our land - what crops, irrigation trends.  With all the productive and properly rainfed areas being colonized by uneconomical crops the useless angst will continue unless people go Kiambu way- what is making you money not sentimental agriculture. 

[RV Pundit]

Precisely. We need the same courage WSR faced his people and told them - Maize farming has no future - just plant avacados and name it - our farmers should transition to high value crops - avacado alone can earn us 10B dollars in export in 10yrs - and employ a lot more in whole value chain.

Some of these things - you cannot beat temperate countries - wheat, maize, sugar-cane - we should just delete them - and focus on really high intensive high value crops - and livestock production - that require a lot of human labour - and that cannot be easily auomated - and that grow during winter season of the developed world.

High value, Intensive Labour and Not grown in a temperate climate should be our niche. Horticulture, Dairy, Nuts, Beef, such kind of things.

Farmers should use their land for what is profitable. Onions are uneconomical crop. A kilo barely goes past 40 per kilo farm gate rarely breaking even. Requires intense irrigation, fertilizer, spraying, harvesting costs, drying.

A genuine land audit would help but it is impractical given vested interests by the powerful land grabbers. Such an audit would show how we are using our land - what crops, irrigation trends.  With all the productive and properly rainfed areas being colonized by uneconomical crops the useless angst will continue unless people go Kiambu way- what is making you money not sentimental agriculture.