Principal secretary Richard Lesiyampe Monday also announced the suspension of three regional managers and 59 other workers spread across depots that were marred with malpractices.
The subsidised fertiliser is sold to farmers at Sh1,800 a bag against market cost of Sh3,500.
The NCPB staff are said to have connived with unscrupulous traders to repackage the subsidised commodity for commercial sale, denying the farmers the subsidised manure.
Dr Lesiyampe said procurement of maize by the board was also rocked by breaches such as poor identification of farmers and deliveries by traders whose source of grain was not authenticated, locking out genuine growers.
The Agriculture ministry has picked Albin Sang as acting managing director of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) following Newton Terer’s resignation last week amid irregular purchase and sale of maize and fertiliser.
Principal secretary Richard Lesiyampe Monday also announced the suspension of three regional managers and 59 other workers spread across depots that were marred with malpractices.
“You are aware and this information is in public domain of incidents of diversion of subsidy fertiliser, which has been entrusted to the NCPB,” he said. “Cases have been reported of delays in delivery to farmers, inefficient distribution and penetration by cartels in collusion with some staff.”
The subsidised fertiliser is sold to farmers at Sh1,800 a bag against market cost of Sh3,500.
The NCPB staff are said to have connived with unscrupulous traders to repackage the subsidised commodity for commercial sale, denying the farmers the subsidised manure.
Dr Lesiyampe said procurement of maize by the board was also rocked by breaches such as poor identification of farmers and deliveries by traders whose source of grain was not authenticated, locking out genuine growers.
“The ministry commissioned forensic audit to ascertain and validate procedures that have been used to procure maize and manage subsidy fertiliser. These audits have revealed laxity and operational negligence at the top management level of NCPB,” he added.
Farmers are supposed to be vetted by local chiefs and Agriculture officials before taking their maize to the NCPB, but a weakness in the process has seen unscrupulous traders capitalise on the weak system to sell the produce to the board over the years.
According to the source at the NCPB, Mr Terer, who had started his second term at the grain handler in June last year, is said to have opted to resign before being investigated for failing to vet 4.3 million bags of maize that were bought by the agency, locking thousands of genuine farmers out.
There have been complaints that traders benefited by selling maize that they had procured in Uganda at a cheap price and selling it expensively to the NCPB at the expense of farmers.
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