Desperate maize farmers opt for private millers

By Winstone Chiseremi

Hundreds of disgruntled maize farmers in North Rift region have resolved to sell their produce to private millers to avoid stringent conditions for delivery of the produce to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).

Speaking to the press in Eldoret, they said  private millers pay promptly than the government. Led by Jackson Kimutai, a prominent maize farmer in Uasin Gishu county, they said the conditions put in place by the government to supply maize to the cereals board were tedious and time- consuming.

“The vetting process is too demanding and time consuming and that is why we have opted to sell our produce to private millers where payment is made upon delivery,” said Kimutai.

According to the Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago,  the area alone is projected to produce four million bags of maize against the government’s plan to buy only  two million bags across the country.

The government came up with the stringent conditions in a move aimed at weeding out cartels and unscrupulous traders who import the produce for delivery to NCPB at the expense of genuine farmers.

Source: MediaMax Network