A section of farmers in Uasin Gishu County has asked Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria to stop commenting on issues that relate to the Agriculture sector.
The farmers led by Thomas Bowen say Kuria should focus on his docket and allow Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi to handle matters in the docket.
Speaking in Eldoret, the farmers also dismissed Kuria’s 72-hour ultimatum for them to sell their maize.
The Trade CS had over the weekend asked farmers to sell maize to the millers before a Cabinet meeting – which he said would approve maize importation.
“We have a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday where we shall be given a way forward. If the directive is to release (the maize) we shall release it. So you have 72 hours to release the maize before the Cabinet sitting. I see you have begun distributing the maize and I like that,” Kuria said.
But according to Uasin Gishu farmers, the CS has no mandate to speak on the maize issue.
“You have told us to sell our maize but you did not say to who? We only know of millers that have been there ever since but now everybody is running there. They are overwhelmed,” said Bowen, a prominent farmer.
No hoarding
“Leave us with the Agriculture CS who is better informed on issues to do with farming,” he added.
But even as the farmers tell off CS Kuria, they also want the government to open the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) so that it can start purchasing their produce.
They have also dismissed claims that they were hoarding maize.
“Nobody is hoarding maize. In fact, we are very much willing to sell, only that what we have has not dried well. Some are still harvesting. What we need now is for government to buy maize for the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) to be used to feed Kenyans,” said Bowen.
There has been uproar among farmers and some politicians since Kuria announced that the government was planning to import maize.
Those opposed to the plan said the government must first ensure all locally available produce has been mopped up.
It is an argument that Agriculture CS seemed to agree with when he said maize importation will only be considered from February 2023.
