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Farmers in the North Rift region have protested a decision by National
Cereal and Produce Board (NCPB) to buy maize at Ksh 2500 down from the previous
price of Ksh 2700.
Representatives
from the region have termed the revision as unilateral saying that the decision
was made without consultation and the reduction in buying price only discovered
upon delivery of the produce.
Kenya Farmers Association director, Kipkorir Menjo, said the prices may
have been reduced following importation of maize from neighbouring countries,
which has reduced demand for locally grown maize. He complained that such
importations are still being allowed yet farmers still have bags of maize lying
in stores.
“So far we have a total of about 150 vehicles awaiting clearance at the
NCPB depot in Eldoret. NCPB should at the very least have served us with a
notice so that we get prepared and decide whether to continue delivering our
maize produce to the board or to seek other options”, said Menjo.
The farmer representative further noted that the price of a bag of
fertilizer has shot up to between Sh3, 500 to Sh4000 per 50 kg bag adding that
farmers were upset and some even contemplating abandoning cultivation of maize
and moving to other ventures.
NCPB opened its doors for supplies in December 2020, after failing to
purchase maize in 2019 from growers. Unlike other years, the grain handler is
buying maize for its commercial purposes and not for the Strategic Grain
Reserve as has been the case before.
Since December, the state agency was buying the commodity at Sh2700, a
price which the board had found necessary to attract more harvest after facing
stiff competition from private millers.
