Ministry seeks more cash to buy maize as farmers protest
Trucks queue as farmers deliver maize to the NCPB in January. The cereals board ran out of Sh2.7billion allocated to build a grain reserve. PHOTO | FILE
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Agriculture PS Sicily Kariuki said the additional funds would be required to help in mopping up the grain from farmers who are camping at the various depots across the country.
The move comes just days after the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) ran out of the Sh2.7 billion that had been allocated for the building a reserve of the staple.
Farmers in North Rift took to the streets to demonstrate the abrupt closure of the board’s depots that had been receiving maize.
The Agriculture ministry has opened fresh talks with the Treasury in a bid to secure more funds to buy maize from farmers.
Agriculture principal secretary Sicily Kariuki said the additional funds would be required to help in mopping up the grain from farmers who are camping at the various depots across the country.
“We are on the matter right now and the Treasury is aware that we would require more funds to enable us to buy maize from the farmers,” she told the Business Daily on Thursday.
The move comes just days after the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) ran out of the Sh2.7 billion that had been allocated for the building a reserve of the staple.
Hundreds of farmers in the grain basket of North Rift took to the streets to demonstrate the abrupt closure of the board’s depots that had been receiving maize.
The push for more cash would come as good news to farmers who have been enjoying good prices after the government locked out the brokers who capitalise on the absence of the NCPB to offer low prices.
Kenya Farmers Association director Kipkorir Menjo had said in an earlier interview that the absence of NCPB will once again expose farmers to brokers who pulled down prices to a low of Sh1,200 for a 90 kilogramme bag last November from Sh3,800 in May.
The middlemen recently raised the price to Sh2,000 per bag following the entry of the cereals board in the market late last month.
NCPB has been paying farmers Sh2,300 and a Sh500 rebate per 90kg bag of maize.
The East African Grain Council (EAGC) has urged farmers to embrace the warehouse receipting system instead of hurriedly selling their crop to brokers at throwaway prices.
Early in the week, EAGC signed a Sh1 billion contract with a number of financial institutions including Unitas Sacco.
The money will enable the regional grain body to issue credit to farmers who would have deposited their maize in the warehouse of up to 70 per cent worth of their produce as they wait for prices to go up before selling the produce.
EAGC has 12 certified warehouses offering storage services to willing farmers, while 10 more have been earmarked for certification.
“If all farmers rush to the market to sell their commodity, they will be flooding the market, hence cutting down on the price, which may not be in their good interest,” said Gerald Masila, the EAGC’s chief executive.
The amount of maize in the strategic grain reserve has now increased to 3.7 million 90kg bags, from the previous 2.7 million bags.
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