President William Ruto on Tuesday May 28, 2024 directed Agriculture cabinet secretary Mithika Linturi to convene consultative meetings and address the concerns expressed by muguka farmers.

The president was responding, following the prohibition of the transportation and sale of muguka in Mombasa, Kilifi and Taita Taveta counties.

This comes after President Ruto held a meeting on Monday May 27, 2024 with Embu governor Cecily Mbarire, and legislators from muguka growing constituencies at State House, Nairobi over the issue of muguka farmers.

During the meeting, Ruto stated that Ksh500 million had been set aside for the cultivation of muguka in the 2024–2025 Financial Year, confirming that the crop was legally recognized by the government.

“I have held a productive meeting with the leaders of Embu County on the recent ban on muguka. We have agreed that miraa/muguka being a scheduled crop, a meeting be convened to discuss the issue,” Ruto stated.

“Consequently, I have directed the Ministry of Agriculture to convene a forum of all parties and stakeholders concerned,” he added.

An agreement for the implementation of the Miraa/Mũguka Regulations 2023 is anticipated to come from the consultative meetings.

“The future of Miraa/Muguka is in scaling up farming, aggregation, grading, pricing, packaging and value addition of the crop,” read a statement from State House.

“For this reason, the government has committed KSh500 million in the 2024/25 Financial Year for value addition of these scheduled crops.”

During the meeting, Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi verified that muguka was a scheduled crop, with laws enacted by the Senate and National Assembly.

Farmers who plant Miraa in Embu, expressed dissatisfaction on Monday, saying that their livelihoods were negatively impacted by the prohibition of Muguka in three counties, including Mombasa.

In contrast to the usage of alcohol or marijuana, they asserted that the crop was not a harsh substance and that no users had experienced any negative effects.

On Thursday of last week, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir initially outlawed the use, entry, distribution, and sale of Muguka and related products within the county.

He stated that at the time, the public was concerned that young people were wasting their lives. The ban was implemented after collaboration with the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA).

Following his declaration, Kilifi and Taita Taveta counties issued muguka bans.