Farmers in the North Rift Region have set a minimum price that they want their maize to be bought this year by the government.
Most of the farmers are currently harvesting their produce. It is expected that the government will soon be opening the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots for farmers to deliver their produce.
Already Ksh4 billion has been set aside to facilitate purchase of the maize from farmers.
But even as farmers await the announcement from the government for the opening of NCPB depots, they say the minimum a 90 kilogram bag should be bought by the government should be Ksh5,500.
Kimutai Arap Kolum, a prominent farmer in Uasin Gishu says any price lass that will leave them at a loss.
“The lowest price the government can buy our maize is Ksh5,500 per bag. If it is less than that – we will not be able to break even due to the high cost of production,” Kolum told Uasin Gishu News.
Stabilize maize prices
He argues that despite the government providing them with subsidized fertilizers, cost for other areas remains relatively high.
Middlemen are currently buying maize from farmers for as low as Ksh2,400.
But farmers hope once NCPB stores are opened and the government sets the price, it will be able to stabilize the prices.
“Subsidized fertilizer is just one component. We have transportation and cost of preparing the land which is directly related to fuel. We all know fuel has been high so you can’t say because we had subsidized fertilizer, the prices drops,” the farmer said.
Last planting season, farmers were buying a 50 kilogram bag of fertilizer at Ksh3,500, up from over Ksh6,000 that they were purchasing in the previous season.
The government has since announced that it will lower the fertilizer price to Ksh2,500 for the coming season.Meanwhile, farmers have called on the Ministry of Agriculture to hasten opening NCPB depots so that they can dry their produce.
They have expressed concerns that with the anticipated El Nino rains, it might be a toll order for them to dry their produce.
Most of the farmers depend on open air drying which might be impossible should the region witness
