Posted on January, 17, 2019 at 09:09 am
A funding hitch has delayed purchasing of maize by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) days after President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a directive for the buying to start immediately.
Officials at the NCPB said on Wednesday that they were waiting for money and instructions from the Strategic Food Reserve (SFR), which is the custodian of maize stored at the board.
NCPB says the SFR officials are seeking funds from the Treasury and that the buying of maize from farmers will start once the Treasury wires cash.
President Uhuru Kenyatta last Thursday directed the NCPB to buy two million bags from farmers at Sh2,500, putting the cash requirement at Sh5 billion.
“SFR, who are the owners of the maize, are organising resources with the Treasury and we are hoping to start purchases anytime next week,” said an official at the board.
According to the official, the counties and the Ministry of Agriculture are working on a register to identify the real farmers ahead of the purchasing activity.
Mr Kenyatta last week directed the Ministry of Agriculture to immediately open up the depots for maize purchases.
“I have directed the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture to authorise the National Cereals and Produce Board through the Strategic Food Reserve to immediately open in coordination with respective county governments buying centres and stores to receive maize from farmers across the country,” said the Mr Kenyatta.
The NCPB is planning to release two million bags of maize from the previous stocks in a move aimed at freeing up the space and create room for the purchase of last season’s crop.
SFR will be buying two million bags from farmers, which is just a fraction of 46 million bags that the government has projected to have been harvested last year.
The Cabinet had set an initial buying price of Sh2,300 per bag but Mr Kenyatta last week directed NCPB to pay farmers Sh2,500 per 90 kilo bag.
The delays are likely to affect farming activities this year as farmers rely on profit ploughed back to plant.
“The acreage under maize will definitely be affected by the delays in purchasing maize,” said Timothy Njagi, a researcher with the Egerton based policy think tank.
The farmers, who have a lot of obligations this January, including taking their children to school, have been left at a crossroads as the money that they hoped to use is stuck in factories or with the government.
Source: Business Daily