This archive report was first published on 25 August 2020.
Kenya is investing over Sh100 million in the renovation of warehouses to meet the standards of the Warehouse Receipting System (WRS) ahead of launching a commodities exchange.
According to the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC), the first of the six warehouses earmarked for modernisation will be ready by October.
The 617.81-square metre Kisumu depot will be upgraded at a cost of Sh20 million, and 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, including 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 Warehouse Receipts Systems Act 2019, passed by MPs in June last year, provides a legal and regulatory framework for the development and regulation of WRS and the establishment of the WRS Council.
