By Kabaraji Richard
Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has hit out at the government over what he claims is its attempt to control the prices of agricultural produce.
He said the move was hurting some regions.
Speaking in Kitale town, Natembeya gave an example of maize prices noting that farmers from the county have been given a raw deal as the price of produce does not concur with the cost of production.
“Let the national government fully devolve agriculture and let us determine prices for the products we produce rather than a few individuals sitting in Nairobi boardrooms dictating to us what we get for our hard-earned hustle,” said
The county boss also called for the liberation of the agricultural market and for the national government to provide a level playing ground for all the players.
“Let the national government give us a mandate to control who buys our produce and at what price as this will enable us to get a return for investment.”
No effect on unga prices
In addition, Natembeya wants a 90-kilogram bag of maize grain sold at Ksh6,000. He rubbished fears that higher prices will increase the price of unga.
According to the governor, the government has many ways to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of living, especially maize flour.
“This season farmers suffered on the high cost of planting materials, thus the government should at least give them the minimum price of six thousand and then give us cheap fertilizer for the next season to lower the cost of farming,” he said.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Paul Rono recently noted they were working on ways that will see maize prices increase from the current Ksh4,200 per bag.
“I may not have a definite answer now but I assure you we as the government are working on ways to see to it that the price at least increases to cover your production cost,” Rono said.
Further, the PS urged farmers to harvest their maize crops as well as make use of the numerous dryers that have been provided to preserve their crops.
“We have supplied over 100 dryers in Trans Nzoia county which we want you to make use of before the onset of the El Nino to dry your maize as we look for ways to address the price issue,” the PS said while in Kitale.
It is estimated that maize farmers in Trans Nzoia will harvest at least six million bags this year. However, there are fears that some of the crops might be destroyed by ongoing heavy rains pounding the area.
