[ti:Kenya Farmers Call on Britain to Reverse Khat Ban] [ar:Milagros Ardin] [al:Agriculture Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the Agriculture Report. [00:02.85]Kenyan farmers say [00:04.65]a British ban on the plant known as khat [00:08.19]will seriously affect their business and economy. [00:12.53]Exports of khat, also called "miraa" [00:15.96]are worth big money to Kenya. [00:18.75]The farmers have exported the plant mainly to Britain, [00:23.09]other European countries and Somalia. [00:26.97]Khat is growing in the colder climates of central Kenya. [00:31.81]For years, people have been using it as a drug, [00:36.29]biting on the leaves of the plant, [00:39.07]can increase the heart beat [00:41.42]and make the person feel more awake. [00:44.56]Some Kenyan politicians and khat traders [00:47.79]have called on the government to open talks [00:50.89]with British officials to convince them to cancel the ban on khat. [00:56.21]They say ending the ban would save Kenya's khat industry from collapse. [01:03.17]Kipkorir Menjo is the director of the Kenya Farmers Association, [01:08.99]he says the ban will affect tens of thousands of people. [01:13.47]"The miraa industry is going to face a serious challenge [01:17.66]because they are people in the supply chain, [01:19.90]the farmers who are planting the crop, [01:22.29]fellows who have been distributing, [01:24.53]fellows who have been exporting. [01:25.77]The whole industry is likely to collapse [01:27.67]because this is a major market [01:30.61]which has been earning this people good money, [01:33.69]of course also earning the country foreign exchange." [01:36.33]Earlier this month, [01:37.88]British Home Secretary Theresa May banned the leafy stimulant. [01:43.56]She warned that traders could use Britain [01:46.64]to move khat illegally to other European countries. [01:51.52]Jephat Muroko is the head of the Global Miraa Industry Dealers Network, [01:58.25]he says the British's decision was made for political reasons. [02:03.57]"To me it's a pure politics, [02:05.32]and not only politics but also oppressive to the miraa industry traders. [02:11.78]I think it's part of the consequences. [02:14.88]But I wonder about our government, why it's quiet about this thing." [02:19.52]Khat is already banned in most European countries, [02:24.06]including France, Germany, and Netherlands. [02:28.09]Kenyan traders exported about 20 tons of khat [02:32.19]to the Netherlands weekly before the ban. [02:36.23]Another 36 tons a week were sent to Britain. [02:40.72]Kipkorir Menjo says khat farmers and traders [02:45.20]need to start speaking up, so that Britain can lift the ban. [02:50.02]If their efforts fail, he says, [02:53.50]they will have to start planting other crops to earn money. [02:58.09]"If there will be no headway then they will have to think for other options, [03:01.97]but I think for now I don't want to conclude that nobody will listen to them. [03:05.75]Hopefully they will get some way out, [03:08.19]but if it's not possible they will have to think [03:10.63]some other ways of getting their livelihood." [03:13.08]As the farmers and traders study the latest development from Europe, [03:17.74]another battle awaits them inside Kenya: [03:21.79]The National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse [03:27.16]is urging the government to list khat as an illegal drug. [03:32.98]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. [03:37.87]You can learn more news about the dispute [03:40.82]and other agricultural issues at the voalearningenglish website. [03:46.55]You can also find videos of our reports [03:49.78]at the voalearningenglish channel on Youtube. [03:54.27]I'm Milagros Ardin. [03:56.20]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com