Farmers in the Agricultural North Rift counties have challenged the upcoming government to focus on creating broader markets for farm produce and commodities.
The farmers under the umbrella of the Kenya National Farmers Federation (KENAFF) say the main challenge that they are currently facing is the lack of markets for their produce.
According to the federation’s Uasin Gishu chairperson Ruth Kemboi Maraba, the country needs to look at the markets within and beyond the continent.
“The government need to expand and deepen the market for Kenyan produce and commodities. We have a lot of food but without a good market,” Maraba said.
She also expressed the need for the revolutionization of the Warehouse Receipting System (WRS) to be enhanced.
WRS is a government initiative under which cereal farmers are allowed to store their produce at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots, and get receipts they can use to access financial loans as they wait for the produce to have better prices to sell them.
“The Warehouse Receipting System should be strengthened as it’s the way to go,” said the KENAFF Uasin Gishu chair.
Among the issues facing maize and wheat farmers in the North Rift are high post-harvest losses and poor prices.
These are some of the challenges WRS targets to address by providing state-of-the-art storage facilities that allow farmers to wait until prices are right before selling their produce.
AFC decentralization
Another area the farmers want the next government to address is developing a database for all farmers across the country – detailing what each farmer is involved in and at what volume.
“We also need the government to support us to aces affordable credit and give us a conducive environment to repay,” Maraba said.
One way she notes that can help farmers access low-interest credit is by decentralizing the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC).
AFC is a Development Finance Institution (DFI) wholly owned by the Government of Kenya. It was formed in 1963, initially as a subsidiary of the then Land and Agricultural Bank and has a mandate of assisting in the development of agriculture and agricultural industries by making loans and providing managerial and technical assistance to the loan beneficiaries.
Today AFC remains the leading Government Credit institution mandated to provide credit for the sole purpose of developing agriculture.
