Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS), Mithika Linturi, has announced that Kenya will sign miraa deal with Somalia next month on May 8, to ensure steady economic benefits and provide a legal framework for the khat trade.Mr. Linturi noted that the cash crop is the backbone of the economy in Meru, which contributes significantly to the livelihood of many residents in the county.The CS was speaking at Thamare Primary School in Igembe Central Sub-county during the burial of the two daughters of the Deputy Speaker of Meru County Assembly and Njia Ward member of the County Assembly, Ali Mwenda, who were involved in a grisly road accident on April 2, which claimed the lives of the two angels and left their father on a wheelchair.Linturi was flanked by the Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Kathuri Murungi, former Meru County Governor, Peter Munya; Igembe Central Member of Parliament, Dan Kiili; Meru County Deputy Governor, Mutua M'Ethingia; and several members of the Meru County Assembly, amo ng other dignitaries.The CS promised the residents that the Kenya Kwanza government is ready to support the cash crop fully and safeguard their interests.The Meru County Senator and the Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Kathuri Murungi, urged NACADA to give miraa a clean bill of health as a cash crop, so as to benefit the residents who solely rely on the crop for livelihood.Source: Kenya News Agency