About 200 tonnes of maize is rotting in the Hola Irrigation Scheme after the National Cereals and Produce Board failed to buy it.

More than 650 farmers in the scheme are now watching helplessly as their efforts go to waste.

Millions of shillings were spent to revive the scheme under the National Economic Stimulus Programme late last year.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were the chief guests in Hola during the launching of the project.

Farmers said at the weekend they could not believe that it was the same government that was frustrating them just three months after urging them to grow the food crop to alleviate hunger in the country.

Mr Said Mugawa of the Hola Farmers Cooperative Society said: “What are we supposed to do?

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The source predicts that businesses that offer online social media consulting and online content production will thrive this year. According to reports from eMarketer, small businesses will spend more than $2 billion on building their social media presence this year. Many will need help developing their social network sites, and entrepreneurs only need a computer to offer this service.

Another inexpensive startup that might generate big funds is specialty food services. The source says consumers are more health conscious today than ever before and the demand for specialty foods has increased.

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Is Your Business Struggling? How to Access Interest-Free Short-Term Loans

To curb 2007’s financial meltdown, the US government enacted unprecedented bailout packages to some of America’s largest corporations. However, to many critics of the massive bailouts, too many other businesses were left in the cold. Considering that small businesses make up a tremendous percentage of employers in the US, shouldn’t they be eligible for assistance as well?

With this in mind, the US government now wants your small business to survive the economic crunch, and to help, it is offering short-term business loans with no interest. What type of small business loan offers no interest?

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3 Economic Indicators that Impact Small Businesses

Since the end of 2007, the economy has affected thousands of American small businesses. Some have successfully navigated through the winds of a rough economic climate, while others have given up and filed for bankruptcy. Although economic indicators are looking positive, we’re not out of the proverbial woods yet.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy publishes a quarterly small business economic indicator pamphlet that provides detailed numbers and trends about the economic standings.

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Not surprisingly, President Obama’s recently released budget proposal for fiscal year 2011 has elicited polarized views from the business community. He’s beginning to stand up to Wall Street and large corporations, at least rhetorically, while promising much-needed relief for small to mid-size businesses (US News).

Beyond the president’s expected populist stance, however, are a few arguably substantive budget proposals for Main Street:

$30 Billion for Small Business Loans (Reuters): The cash, from repaid TARP bank bailout funds, would be funneled into small- and medium-sized banks with assets under $10 billion. Incentives would include a dividend rate decrease in exchange for increases in business lending.

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