Ouru administration intent on destroying every thing that works in Kenya

[Arcadian_Dreamer]

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Honey is backbone of many small farmers. They want to over regulate, over tax everything. Raw milk has been banned under the guise of protecting consumers when the real intent was to facilitate the capture of the whole dairy industry by Kenyatta family.

The excuses never change

In a recent media interview, Mr Kimutai said that Kenyan honey is contaminated with pesticide residues. But if the government is indeed concerned about improving honey production, it should start by banning the use of toxic pesticides that are detrimental to bees and contaminate the quality of honey. Pesticides such as Deltamethrin have been found to be toxic to bees yet they are still used in Kenya.

This is fascism: everything under the state nothing outside the state

[RV Pundit]

Regulation is good. As long as there is proper public participation. It should be carrot and stick. There has to be a benefit for bee keepers that come with regulation and standards. So it better to start with few cooperative - stick to some rules - and earning better - before gov regulate a mess.

So step up - organize the farmers into groups and cooperatives - and let them self-regulate.

This is where we need cooperative movement to really take root in such sectors.

[Arcadian_Dreamer]

Regulation is good. As long as there is proper public participation. It should be carrot and stick. There has to be a benefit for bee keepers that come with regulation and standards. So it better to start with few cooperative - stick to some rules - and earning better - before gov regulate a mess.

So step up - organize the farmers into groups and cooperatives - and let them self-regulate.

This is where we need cooperative movement to really take root in such sectors.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Their only intent is to kill smallholder honey producers so that big firms can capture the market, fahamu. They started with banning sale of heirloom seeds:

Part 2 section 3 of the Act prohibits the sale of uncertified seed. The good old practice of selling and sharing seeds is further criminalised in section 7(5) which requires only seed appearing in the Variety Index or the National Variety List to be sold. This limits farmers from selling their varieties which they have been sharing, exchanging and selling for generations.

[RV Kirgit]

Honey is backbone of many small farmers. They want to over regulate, over tax everything. Raw milk has been banned under the guise of protecting consumers when the real intent was to facilitate the capture of the whole dairy industry by Kenyatta family.

The excuses never change

In a recent media interview, Mr Kimutai said that Kenyan honey is contaminated with pesticide residues. But if the government is indeed concerned about improving honey production, it should start by banning the use of toxic pesticides that are detrimental to bees and contaminate the quality of honey. Pesticides such as Deltamethrin have been found to be toxic to bees yet they are still used in Kenya.

This is fascism: everything under the state nothing outside the state

Agreed

Fascism is slowly creeping disguised as national security and globalism communism (aka build back better )

They want to displace and kill jua kali instead of upgrading it.

There was another bill to outlaw natural manure and mandate synthetics, I don't know if it went through

Very typical dynasty moves

[RV Pundit]

You make it sound like we have bee industry. There is none. Heavily regulated sectors like Tea and Dairy and horticulture are billion dollars. While livestock, bees and such other sectors zero.

Neither the poor bee keepers nor the honey consumers are benefitting- zero standards - health issues - zero export potential - no growth - just people wasting their time selling honey on the road side. Mostly fake honey or like gov says very bad honey.

If we have to grow honey into good business - both for local consumption - and later export - we have to regulate - but before that - we have to organize them.

We have to create synergies. We modernize the industries. And we start creating INDUSTRIES.

Let not talk about Kenyatta dominance in Dairy Like it a bad thing. IT IS NOT.

Nobody benefit from informality - or Juakali. Not people. Not the enterprenuers. Not the enviroment. Not the gov.

Regulation is good. As long as there is proper public participation. It should be carrot and stick. There has to be a benefit for bee keepers that come with regulation and standards. So it better to start with few cooperative - stick to some rules - and earning better - before gov regulate a mess.

So step up - organize the farmers into groups and cooperatives - and let them self-regulate.

This is where we need cooperative movement to really take root in such sectors.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Their only intent is to kill smallholder honey producers so that big firms can capture the market, fahamu. They started with banning sale of heirloom seeds:

Part 2 section 3 of the Act prohibits the sale of uncertified seed. The good old practice of selling and sharing seeds is further criminalised in section 7(5) which requires only seed appearing in the Variety Index or the National Variety List to be sold. This limits farmers from selling their varieties which they have been sharing, exchanging and selling for generations.

[Arcadian_Dreamer]

You make it sound like we have bee industry. There is none. Heavily regulated sectors like Tea and Dairy and horticulture are billion dollars. While livestock, bees and such other sectors zero.

Neither the poor bee keepers nor the honey consumers are benefitting- zero standards - health issues - zero export potential - no growth - just people wasting their time selling honey on the road side. Mostly fake honey or like gov says very bad honey.

If we have to grow honey into good business - both for local consumption - and later export - we have to regulate - but before that - we have to organize them.

We have to create synergies. We modernize the industries. And we start creating INDUSTRIES.

Let not talk about Kenyatta dominance in Dairy Like it a bad thing. IT IS NOT.

Nobody benefit from informality - or Juakali. Not people. Not the enterprenuers. Not the enviroment. Not the gov.

You are barking up the wrong tree chief.

A few basic facts:

1. 75% of the food consumed in this country is produced by smallholder farmers not the big ag you are infatuated with. You are stuck in a time warp, in America the most profitable farms are the small organic farms, the also have the highest yields.

2. The point of contention in this Bill is it bars farmers from keeping bees for commercial purposes unless they are registered under the Apiary Act, why? Most affected will be RV farmers btw. It is very retrogressive.

3. The cost of compliance with these regulations will basically kill the small holding bee keepers, who ironically produce the highest quality honey depriving consumers of goods.

4. Local pastoralist, agrarian and forest-dwelling communities have practiced beekeeping since time immemorial, what gives the government a right to tell them they can't make their livelihoods from their heritage? Ni ukoloni tu

5.  This bill will drive smallholder beekeepers out of honey production and pave the way for multinational corporations under the guise of regulating the sector, the same pattern repeats, capital leaving Africa for Ulaya and China.

Use you brain sometimes, don't ever trust authorities. You assert you are with hustlers but in reality your a big ag big industry, big business supporter. You can't have your cake and eat it.

[RV Pundit]

Use my brain very funny; Bee keeping!

Kenya small holder sector has succeeded where there has been an attempt to formalize it; like KTDA; 0.6M smallholder farming coop - the largest in Africa

I have 5yrs experience working in agri sector dealing with small holders.

What works is organizing smallholders to benefit from ECONOMIES OF SCALE that large farms benefit from.That is how KTDA beat large multinationals..but farmers have to accept some standards and lose some control.

That is the bottomline. You alone can do great things - as bee keeper - but if the industry is a mess - you will not succeed.

Look at Avacado - every European supermarket has kenya avacados - and it is regulated - because quality is important - otherwise one too many bad avacados from kenya - could kill the industry. Now kenya gov decide when to harvest avocados and went to stop. Yeah sound like interference but it's important.

That is avocados that grow in nearly every homestead in kenya - but until it was commercialized by Kakuzi and soon Muranga - it was DOA.

The same need to happen in Bee Keeping - it all over but there is no industry - no kenya honey brand - nothing - it sold on the streets or roadside.  I once had an opportunity to meet a swiss beekeeper - they make insane money - but it's heavily regulated - including the kind of bees allowed to hive in there.

The Juakali mentality is total chaos that benefit nobody. Poor have to be organized. Then they have to start meeting local, regional, national and international standards. And then money will come.

But you come from Nyanza where nothing works.

[RV Pundit]

New zealand honey is more than 100 times normal honey

[Arcadian_Dreamer]

Use my brain very funny; Bee keeping!

Kenya small holder sector has succeeded where there has been an attempt to formalize it; like KTDA; 0.6M smallholder farming coop - the largest in Africa

I have 5yrs experience working in agri sector dealing with small holders.

What works is organizing smallholders to benefit from ECONOMIES OF SCALE that large farms benefit from.That is how KTDA beat large multinationals..but farmers have to accept some standards and lose some control.

That is the bottomline. You alone can do great things - as bee keeper - but if the industry is a mess - you will not succeed.

Look at Avacado - every European supermarket has kenya avacados - and it is regulated - because quality is important - otherwise one too many bad avacados from kenya - could kill the industry. Now kenya gov decide when to harvest avocados and went to stop. Yeah sound like interference but it's important.

That is avocados that grow in nearly every homestead in kenya - but until it was commercialized by Kakuzi and soon Muranga - it was DOA.

The same need to happen in Bee Keeping - it all over but there is no industry - no kenya honey brand - nothing - it sold on the streets or roadside.  I once had an opportunity to meet a swiss beekeeper - they make insane money - but it's heavily regulated - including the kind of bees allowed to hive in there.

The Juakali mentality is total chaos that benefit nobody. Poor have to be organized. Then they have to start meeting local, regional, national and international standards. And then money will come.

But you come from Nyanza where nothing works.

I think we are talking different things here, we are all for voluntary association of farmers pooling their resources to form cooperatives and the like. What I'm against is the banning of micro producers using regulations. It is undemocratic and anti poor. Freedom is the operative word.

[Arcadian_Dreamer]

Btw KTDA is a colossal failure. It has been taken over by cartels. In a low trust society like ours every organization ends up by captured by cabals. So keep things as small as possible.

[RV Pundit]

Collossal failure - yet it Africa if not developing world - largest farmers organization or company. It has govervance issues no doubt - but it will be solved. KTDA biggest challenge is black tea market glut. KTDA is now a victim of it's success and need to adapt quickly into green and other teas...and heck even Avacados. They have the distribution channel...worldwide supply chain...they need to diverse and produce more than tea...perhaps branch into horticulture.

Btw KTDA is a colossal failure. It has been taken over by cartels. In a low trust society like ours every organization ends up by captured by cabals. So keep things as small as possible.

[Njuri Ncheke]

Honey is Mbig business but china again has flooded market with fake honey and that's how new zealand and Australia original honey has hit the roof prices sky rocketing. The best method  to check original from fake Honey is by detecting nector in it. But the bastards in china have developed technologies to create fake nector and now the market is toss up for small holders all over the world
My dad keeps beehives traditional style around his shambas there are a great source of pride for him,I can tell from him the value of honey, pre colonial honey was greatly valued equivalent to gold in other areas,honey was an expensive commodity in Meru culture it used to be exchanged for dowry and behives used to be placed to mark territory or boundary so kitambo if you wandered and came to a beehive that told you that you are entering someone land and had to stop.
Back to modern day china through mass agriculture projects the levels that pundit advocate s for Kenya managed to kill all bees leading to shortage of pure honey and pollination. As if not enough they have now created fake honey killing the small Holders allover the world. Pundit China is a total disgrace.

[RV Pundit]

More reason to regulate the industry and have Made in Kenya honey - that is certified - Brand China will clean it act together - once it get punished - like they did in electronics and other spheres.

This is why it important for gov to sometimes get into people lives...and help them stick to basic standards.

We should discourage the roadside selling of any crap - and try to help farmers establish micro-industries - it easy to process and package honey - and have it written Made in Meru, Kenya - and meru county to ensure nobody is out there - packaging molasses as honey.

So like Milk - Make it Illegal to HAWK Honey.

That way we can have Mt Kenya Milk brand from Meru that my wife likes - although I like Molo milk and Sotik KCC whenever I can get them - but definitely hiyo Githunguri dairy cannot enter my house.

Honey is Mbig business but china again has flooded market with fake honey and that's how new zealand and Australia original honey has hit the roof prices sky rocketing. The best method  to check original from fake Honey is by detecting nector in it. But the bastards in china have developed technologies to create fake nector and now the market is toss up for small holders all over the world
My dad keeps beehives traditional style around his shambas there are a great source of pride for him,I can tell from him the value of honey, pre colonial honey was great equivalent to gold in other areas,honey was an expensive commodity in Meru culture it used to be exchanged for dowry and behives used to be placed to mark territory or boundary so kitambo if you wandered and came to a beehive that told you that you are entering someone land and had to stop.
Back to modern day china through mass agriculture projects the levels that pundit advocate s for Kenya managed to kill all bees leading to shortage of pure honey and pollination. As if not enough they have now created fake honey killing the small Holders allover the world. Pundit China is a total disgrace.

[Njuri Ncheke]

I totally agree we need regulations in that sector its actually long overdue but problem we have is the regulatory bodies are sometimes not in it for the good of the farmers. I am in an avocado group and trust kenyans to fatten up there pockets instead,you will see when materials and equipment are bought for the group the management colludes with suppliers for kickbacks. At times Nyeuthi is beyond help. Back to honey there are several brands and groups marketing honey but they haven't managed to break through internationally. We need serious people at times I think we employ British and American for these jobs of regulations