Posted on November, 13, 2018 at 09:46 am
Winstone Chiseremi
Maize prices announced by the government last week will be reviewed before farmers start to supply their produce to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) in the next two months, Agriculture Cabinet secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said yesterday.
Speaking in Eldoret, Kiunjuri assured dissillusioned farmers that a task force that was constituted to address problems facing maize growers, will re-look into the prices and come up with a report on Wednesday next week.
He said the task-force membership, which includes Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago and his Trans Nzoia counterpart Patrick Khaemba, has been directed to review the new prices announced by Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund chairman Noah Wekesa.
“I have directed the Mandago-led task force to re-look into the maize prices with a view to come up with a report that will be acceptable to all stakeholders in the sector by next week,” said Kiunjuri.
Farmers have rejected the Sh2,300 price for a 90-kilogramme bag of maize, saying that it was too low considering the cost of production. They instead want the government to purchase their maize at Sh2,300 per 50kg per bag of the maize.
Kiunjuri said the government, through NCPB, will not open stores across the country until the issue of maize prices is deliberated upon and settled through the task force.
“For now the NCPB stores will remain closed for maize farmers until I get a report from the task force regarding the review on new prices that was announced by Strategic Food Reserve Trust fund,” he said.
The CS also ordered the immediate removal of hundreds of bags of maize that have been stored in the board’s stores by traders in North Rift region to create space for supply of the produce from farmers.
He told the management of the board to move with speed and ensure all stores that have been leased to traders to store their maize are emptied within two weeks.
“Farmers are about to deliver their maize to the government through the NCPB in the next two month and I am told the space is holding maize belonging to traders,” he said.
Kiunjuri said the government has already availed money to his ministry that would be paid to the farmers who supplied their maize to the board in two weeks time.
Source: MediaMax Network