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Kenyan Farmers Abandon Food Crops For ‘Green Gold’

As drought and erratic weather wreak havoc across rural Kenya, a growing number of farmers are reportedly abandoning traditional crops like maize and rice for the more lucrative muguka, a potent legal stimulant that relieves fatigue. Muguka is fast-growing, making it less vulnerable to changing weather conditions, using about half the water that maize crops require, according to muguka farmer, Albert Njeru.

 

Kagondu Njagi/Thomson Reuters Foundation

Joshua Mugo and one of his employees tend to muguka crops in Gachuriri, a village in central Kenya, August 9, 2019.

Kagondu Njagi/Thomson Reuters Foundation

Joshua Mugo samples freshly picked muguka leaves in Gachuriri, a village in central Kenya on August 9, 2019.

Kagondu Njagi/Thomson Reuters Foundation

Boniface Runji waters muguka in Gachuriri, a village in central Kenya, on August 9, 2019.

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