Kenya will spend more than Sh100 million on renovation of warehouses in two years to meet the standards of Warehouse Receipting System (WRS) ahead of launching a commodities exchange.
State-owned Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) said the first of the six warehouses earmarked for modernisation to facilitate operation of WRS will be ready by October.
The 617.81-square metre Kisumu depot will be upgraded at a cost of Sh20 million.
Kenya will spend more than Sh100 million on renovation of warehouses in two years to meet the standards of Warehouse Receipting System (WRS) ahead of launching a commodities exchange.
State-owned Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) said the first of the six warehouses earmarked for modernisation to facilitate operation of WRS will be ready by October.
The 617.81-square metre Kisumu depot will be upgraded at a cost of Sh20 million.
It is part of other go-downs in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru and Karatina (Nyeri) – cumulatively measuring 10,564.47 square metres.
The WRS is expected to mitigate losses in the agricultural commodities supply chain as a result of inadequate post-harvest handling infrastructures.
They include inappropriate storage facilities, inefficient price discovery system, high post-harvest losses, low farm gate prices and exploitation of farmers by middlemen.
“WRS is expected to cure the prevailing inefficiencies as well as accord small holder farmers access to market, credit and better returns through stabilised prices,” said KNTC acting managing director Timothy Mirugi.
“The targeted commodities to be received from November are farm produce including grains and pulses, among others.”
Warehouse receipting systems by the National Cereals and Produce Board and privately-owned East Africa Grain Council have been largely shunned by farmers due to unclear operating standards amid lack of legal framework.
MPs passed the Warehouse Receipts Systems Act 2019 in June last year providing a legal and regulatory framework for development and regulation of WRS and establishment of WRS Council.
Operators of warehouses, to be approved by the relevant county executive committee member in line with regulations set out by the council, will be required to conform to standards and grading for agricultural commodities prescribed by bodies such as Kenya Bureau of Standards.
The owner of the agricultural commodities will be issued with a title document called warehouse receipt which can be used as collateral to get a loan or sold to another party.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
