This archive report was first published on 7 July 2021.
Migori Maize Farmers Shift to Importation Amid Production Challenges ¶
Published on July 7, 2021
Maize farmers in Migori County are increasingly turning to importing maize from neighboring Tanzania rather than producing locally due to various challenges affecting the sector.
The trend has been occasioned by numerous woes dogging maize production, including lack of motivating prices, poor weather, and unfavourable soils.
Experts and local farmers point to the poor weather partly caused by the indiscriminate destruction of forest cover and failure by the two levels of government to implement proper policies as some of the factors leading to acute shortage of maize in the country over the recent years.
Former Kehancha Municipality Mayor Paul Gitwekere notes that unless agricultural field extension officers were brought back on board to seriously educate farmers on the importance of applying fertilizers and the right seeds and embracing proper timing of season, Migori and the country in general would plunge further into low maize production.
However, the government has indicated that it is keen on fast-tracking efforts towards boosting food production, especially the maize crop. The decision to initiate a programme to supply farmers with highly subsidized fertilizers and seeds has earned accolades for both President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration and the local devolved unit in as far as food production is concerned.
Other pro-active measures by the two governments have shown positive signs in efforts to increase production of cereals in the County. The tractor-hire service programme run by the Migori County Government has greatly assisted maize farmers to do better maize production.
Additionally, the Warehousing Receipt System (WRS) initiative introduced years back within the maize sector was a bold move mooted by the national grain handler, The National Cereal and Produce Board (NCPB), to help farmers produce more maize without fear of experiencing post-harvest losses.
Through the initiative, farmers who had no place to store their crop in their homes were to rent the NCPB depots to keep their crops at a fee to avoid crop destruction and unnecessary post-harvest losses.
By George Agimba
