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Agency selling 35,000 bags of Galana maize

galana

Maize plantation at Galana Kulalu in Tana River County. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The National irrigation Authority (NIA) is selling 35,000 bags of maize from the Galana Kulalu as the agency seeks to raise more funds for the project.

The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) has advertised the sale and said the consignment packed in 50 kilogramme bags will be sold to the highest bidder in whole or part with prospective buyers expected to have submitted bids by September 7.

The proceeds from the sale may go towards funding of the new contractor on the site after Treasury slashed Sh400 million out of Sh600 million that had been allocated to the agency in the current budget.

The tender to a new contractor was issued at a sum of Sh786 million and NIA was to bridge deficit of Sh186 million.

Parliament is pushing Treasury in releasing the Sh400 million to the project to avoid stalling of the ongoing works by the new contractor at the farm with NIA expected to raise the balance from sale of crops and other internal sources.

The agency had in July advertised for the sale of over 35,000 bags of maize from the previous harvests to interested buyers.

The farmgate prices of maize has in recent days stabilised at Sh2,700 for 90-kilogramme bag and this will form the basis upon which the buying price of the Galana crop will be based at.

Millers had recently said that the price of the commodity will drop as the country heads towards the main crop harvesting season in October and an increase in supply from the volumes import stocks coming in from Uganda and Tanzanaia.

The Galana model farm, which covers 10,000 acres, traverses Kilifi and Tana River counties, and was being run by Israel’s Green Arava before their contract was cancelled and issued to a new contractor by the NIA last year.

The chairman of the National Assembly on Environment, Water, and Natural Resource Kareke Mbiuki said the current progress made by the second contractor is at risk of stalling if NIA does not get the much needed funds on time.

The Galana project was supposed to have been opened up for large scale production under the Private Public Partnership by now as the model farm, which is a demonstration block that covers 10,000 acres was to be completed by 2018. Over 7,000 acres have been cultivated to date with 3,000 acres put under crop last year.