Africa-Press – Kenya. The Ministry of Agriculture has unveiled alcoholic, energy drinks and juices made from miraa as it readies to set up large scale production for sale.
On Wednesday, October 27, the ministry under Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, held a joint conference with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the Meru County Government in Nairobi to discuss measures that will boost miraa farmers.
Among the course of actions planned at the National Miraa Scientific Conference was the introduction of whisky, wine, guarana, juice and other energy drinks, all produced from miraa.
The government hopes that Kenyans would embrace the locally made drinks as it continues to provide solutions to the crippling sector.
Interior Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Fred Matiang’i, added that the government was setting up a team that would promote the sale of miraa in Kenya and abroad. The team would comprise officials drawn from relevant ministries and the Meru County government.
“We now need institutional alignment and regulatory harmony to promote the miraa trade which is the mainstay of the economy of Meru and its environs,” Matiang’i stated.
He directed the intergovernmental standing committee to enforce the report by the task force on the development of the miraa industry.
Efforts are also underway between the Interior ministry and the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) to have the latter review its classification of khat.
Matiang’i assured farmers that NACADA’s listing of khat as a hard drug cannot be supported by science-based evidence and facts.
“In the next two or three years, we should conclude the argument on the classification of miraa.
“The focus now should shift towards supporting miraa farmers and traders access more markets. We should stop this habit of bastardizing miraa farmers and traders,” he assured.
The government is in consultation with foreign countries, among them Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Mozambique, Yemen and Israel to offer international markets for miraa farmers.
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