MIRAA AS CASH CROP FOR MERU COUNTY

Now, many people have heard of Miraa and some of you may even know that it's an important cultural and commercial crop particularly for the Igembe and Tiania communities in the Meru County. Traditionally, the Igermbe and Tiania have used Miraa in  betrothal, peace building and in many other cultural practices. However, in the last few decades, Miraa has become a very important commercial commodity in our country and particularly in Meru, thanks due to the industry and worldwide distribution of the Somali community, you can now order your "kilo" of Miraa in any part of the globe. Miraa has brought great wealth to the Somali and Meru communities and created employment for many. With the implementation of the new constitution, counties are expected to become important centers of commerce in production, marketing and revenue generation. However, like all cash crops, Miraa seems to have benefited the middle men (marketers) much more than the growers. The middle men in this case are invariably the Kenyan Somalis, those from Somalia and in the Diaspora. We are well aware of the in instability in the neighboring Somalia and the connection between the militant Al Shabaab and the Al Qaeda which is on the cross-hairs of the western military interests. There is therefore need for our government, the Somali community and the Meru community to work out a formula that will pre-empt  any likely Western interference on this crop due to the Somali connection. Any further procrastination on the part of the County leaders, the involved community and our government is likely to make the growers vulnerable to the mighty western military and commercial machine. By the way, for those who may not know much about the local market for Miraa particularly in Nairobi, the Merus need to up their game because the Mbeere Miraa, which is said to be of inferior quality has now taken a large chunk of the lower end of the market. Whereas it's possible to buy a pack of Mbeere Miraa for only KES 30.00, you need at least KES 150.00 to get a similar serving of the Meru commodity. This should be food for thought for all stakeholders in the Miraa business. Let the death of Ntai Wa Nkuraru, that indefatigable son of Tiania, not be in vain.