This archive report was first published on 12 December 2019.
Heavy rains in parts of the North Rift have forced some farmers to suspend harvesting, while others who harvested their crops as early as October are staring at losses due to the humid conditions and pest infestations.
Chairman of the Strategic Food Reserves (SFR) board, Dr Noah Wekesa, has called on the Treasury to allocate funds for the purchase of maize from farmers, stating that the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) should produce Sh11 billion from the sale of old stock to facilitate the purchase.
“We are ready as a board to announce producer prices for the current season crop but cannot do it without resources. We want the money before the end of this week so that we can buy four million bags of 90 kgs each from small scale farmers,” Dr Wekesa said.
However, the NCPB has denied being aware of the claims made by the SFR board, with Corporate Affairs manager Mr Titus Maiyo stating that they are waiting for instructions from the Government to tell them when to start buying produce from farmers.
As the situation unfolds, the NCPB has opened its stores with grain driers to support farmers in drying grains to curb losses. Farmers are expected to pay a fee of Sh39.4 per 90kg bag per moisture drop to the recommended 13.5 percent.
Large scale maize farmer Christopher Kiptum welcomed the move, stating that they are in a desperate situation and have been slowly harvesting maize in low quantities since heavy rains have rendered mechanised harvesting impossible.
