Markets: Cabinet Approves New Maize Prices

A Cabinet meeting held at Statehouse on Thursday night approved the purchase of maize from farmers at a new maize price despite a push from farmers to have the prices increased.

Chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta and attended by Deputy President William Ruto, the Cabinet has approved the purchase of a 90-kilogram bag of maize at 2,300 shillings from 3,200 shillings last year.

Farmers had opposed the proposal to purchase a 90-kilogram bag at 2,300 shillings saying that the price will run them into massive losses. They wanted the government to buy their produce at 3,600 shillings, 400 shillings more than what was being issued in 2017.

At the same time, the Cabinet has directed the National Cereal and Produce Board (NCPB) to buy a maximum of 2 million bags of maize and to ensure that genuine farmers are paid directly.

The directive for NCPB to only buy 2 million bags is further set to hurt farmers given that farmers have produced approximately 12 million bags of maize this season.

NCPB has been at continuous loggerheads with farmers following delays in paying of farmers who delivered maize to the body backdating to 2016. There have also been allegations of loss of funds, amounting to more than 4 billion shillings that were meant to pay farmers who deliver their produce.

A section of legislators from the Rift Valley, led by the Nandi Hills Member of Parliament Alfred Keter, have called for the investigation of the Deputy President Willaim Ruto, accusing him of being behind the woes facing farmers in the region. The legislators are accusing the DP for ignoring the problems facing the farmers and by only being keen on their votes. They also say that Ruto might be benefiting directly from the NCPB.

Members of Parliament, through the National Assembly Agricultural Committee, were opposed to the new prices and had ordered the Strategic Food and Reserve Fund Board to produce a “scientific report backed with numbers” that led to the conclusion “of setting up the price of 2,300 shillings.”