Years ago, the Kisii 
county government announced plans for a major project to improve the production of bananas, adding value to them and ensuring farmers benefit. However, almost a decade later, the project has not taken off. This has left farmers who embraced the crop with hopes of benefiting from it in a dilemma.
One of those farmers told nation.africa he cut down most of his banana plants on his small farm in Bobaracho village after failing to get returns from them. He claims that middlemen take advantage of lack of a ready market and dictate prices to them. “We end up selling our bananas at very low prices. We have no bargaining power.”
Banana is the main food crop in Kisii, which is the leading producer in Kenya. The area under bananas in Kisii is slightly above 6,350 ha, with an average production of 56 tons per hectare annually. This translates to 359,600 tons of bananas annually.
Some residents had turned to the commercial farming of the crop after the county leadership announced plans to build the Sh156 million factory, which would be a joint project with the EU and the Kisii county government. Other counties in South Nyanza were also expected to benefit, with their farmers getting a ready market too.
Meanwhile, most farmers in this region have been selling their produce in local markets and on roadsides.