Farmers seek cash for early harvest to curb El Niño loss

Cereals farmers in the North Rift region want the government to set aside funds to help them dry their produce when the forecasted El Niño rains begin.

Maize and wheat farmers in the country’s grain basket are worried that the rains which could stretch for a month from October will find most of their crop in the fields.

Farmers are demanding that the government allocate funds to the National Cereals Board to curb losses of the two key cereal crops and the huge financial losses that would result from that.

“It is evident that we shall have no option but to harvest earlier than usual,” said Kipkorir Menjo, the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) North Rift director.

The government has set aside approximately Sh5 billion to be spent in preparedness and management of El Niño, a third of the funds required to deal with emergencies arising from the heavy rains.

“The government needs to fund the board so that it can reduce charges for drying,” said Mr Menjo.

Joseph Chumo, a large scale farmer from Ziwa, told Business Daily that harvesting crops immediately they “dry: still leaves them with a higher-than-acceptable moisture levels.

Maize which has just been harvested and shelled has a moisture content ranging between 16 and 18 per cent. The national grain handler however only accepts maize with moisture content of 13.5 per cent.

“This means that a farmer has to spend a lot more resources before the moisture level of his crop is achieved,” said Mr Chumo.

Aflatoxin usually attacks grains that have not been properly dried. The fungus which develops on grain exposed to excess moisture, has been linked to liver cancer.

Cases of aflatoxin are high in Kenya and thousands of people, especially in the countryside fall victim of this menace because the flour that they grind in the local posho mills does not undergo testing. In the 2004 outbreak alone, it killed at least 100 people in Kenya.

The cereals board currently charges Sh22 and Sh34 for every drop in moisture content for a 50 kilogramme bag of maize and 90kg bag respectively.

The North Rift region yields approximately 11 million bags of maize and 5.4 bags of wheat every year.

Maize harvesting in the region begins in late October (during which the heavy rains are expected) and runs until December. Wheat farmers, whose crops are expected to mature in the next two months, fear they will bear the biggest brunt of the unprecedented rains.

The cereals have weak pods and heavy rain drops easily release the grains.

A spot-check around Uasin Gishu County showed that a small percentage of wheat farmers in the area have scheduled harvesting in October. This means that most of the crop will still be in the farms if and when the rains come.

Last year, the county government purchased two mobile maize driers which charges Sh26 for a drop in moisture per 90kg bag. The alternative method of sun open field drying is costly as labour and transportation are higher.

“Mobile driers hold smaller capacities per drying session but counties will be doing much to help the farmers if they can purchase more of them,” said Mr Menjo.