BANANA MARKET OF NTHARENE

Meru County is currently the leading producer of bananas in Kenya, having overtaken Kisii County in the recent past.

 

The bulk of banana production in Meru County is done in South Imenti and this can be noted on roadside market of Ntharene along the Meru-Embu Highway, about 5km from Nkubu town. In South Imenti, bananas are mostly grown in the lower zone of the district by small-scale farmers using overhead as well as furrow irrigation. The lower zone of South Imenti, which is noted for its banana production, is Mitunguu. Other parts of Meru County noted for banana production include Central Imenti in the lower regions like Kariene and Mwanga-nthia. Also North Imenti grows bananas in the lower zones.

At Ntharene market and on both sides of the Highway, every Monday morning, which is the major banana market day, these are heaps and heaps of green and ripe bananas surrounded by haggling sellers and buyers of either gender with their lorries and pick up trucks waiting nearby. A cacophony of activities besides the animated haggling between sellers and buyers include; loading and unloading. Other notable farm produce in Ntharene market include various types of fruits including paw-paws, avocados, water-melon, oranges, mangoes, tangerines and tree tomatoes among others, various types of traditional roots and tubers such as arrow-roots, yams, cassava and sweet potatoes. The popularity of the Ntharene market is enhanced most specifically by the women who sell in the ripe banana and have come to be fondly referred to as “Ekuru-ba-Thoko-ya-Ntharene” which in the local Meru dialect means ‘women of Ntharane market’. The ripe banana and fruit market is open daily basis and popular with commuters along the busy road.