By Zablon Oyugi, August 15, 2024, Soon it will be a crime in Kenya to grow mung beans popularly known as ndengu in local language without permit from the respective authority if a bill, currently in parliament, is passed into law.
The Mung Beans Bill, 2022 or the Mung Beans Act proposes that every grower shall be required to register with the relevant county executive committee member by submitting his or her details such as his or her name, location, size and parcel number of the land on which the mung bean is grown and the variety of mung bean grown.
Furthermore, the bill proposes that a person shall not market, process or carry out large scale trading in mung beans or mung beans products unless the person has obtained a licence from the relevant county government.
“A person who contravenes the provisions of the act commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both,” states the bill in part.
Sponsored by Hon. Enoch Kiio Wambua, Senator of Kitui County, Mung Beans Bill, 2022 is deemed to promote growth and development of the mung bean industry as it also requires each county executive committee member to maintain a register of all mung bean growers registered in the respective county.
“A person who intends to market, process or carry out large scale trading in mung beans or mung beans products shall make an application for a licence to the county licensing committee in the form prescribed by the county executive committee member,” reads the bill in part.
It also spells out that the licensing procedures should be made simple, accessible and those that do not impose an undue burden on an applicant
Information regarding the application requirements and procedure should also be readily available and accessible to an applicant making the process cost effective, efficient, transparent and that which provide feedback to an applicant in a timely manner.
If the proposed policy is passed into law, county governments will enact legislation outlining the requirements for farmers to be registered as mung bean growers within the county.
Mug beans varieties
Traditionally, residents of Lower Eastern region popularly famous as Ukambani where the senator hails are known for growing maize and beans as their staple food crops. However, mung beans have become one of their main cash crops being grown by many farmers currently.
Since the region is generally a semi-arid area with perennial water problems though, accelerated by the effects of climate change, some of the two mung beans varieties recommended for such areas include Katumani mung beans 22 and 26.
