kipkorir menjo
Uasin Gishu KFA Director Kipkorir Menjo at a past media briefing.

Still Low! Farmers Reject New Price of Maize Set by NCPB

Farmers in Uasin Gishu County have yet again rejected the latest price review by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) for maize purchase.

NCPB has been receiving maize from farmers at Ksh2,350, per 90 kilograms bag, but it recently reviewed upwards to Ksh2,700 following an uproar that the price was too low.

But despite the latest review, farmers still insist the price is below the minimum that they expect to sell their produce.

They have also hit out at NCPB for setting a price even lower than what private millers are offering currently.

KFA Director Uasin Gishu Kipkorir Menjo.

Led by the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) Uasin Gishu branch director Kipkorir Menjo, farmers insist unless the cereals board reviews further the price, they will not get any deliveries from them.

“Millers are now buying maize at Ksh2,900 yet NCPB recently reviewed their price to Ksh2,700 which is still too low. They will not get our maize at that price,” Menjo told Uasin Gishu News, in a phone interview.

Farmers have been demanding at least Ksh3,000 per 90-kilogram bag of maize due to the high cost of production occasioned by high prices of farm inputs such as seeds and fertilizer, as well as the high cost of fuel.

Former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri during a visit to NCPB depot in Eldoret.

But even as farmers want better prices for their produce, they have warned that Kenyans might soon be subjected to the high cost of maize floor due to an impending shortage of maize.

For a long time, millers have been depending on imports from neighboring countries to mitigate a shortage locally, but according to the KFA director, even Uganda, and Tanzania that have been coming to the rescue whenever there is a shortage are also facing the same challenge this year.

“There is an acute shortage of maize across the region and sooner or later, even NCPB will be forced to offer a far better price to get hold of maize and revamp their reserves,” Menjo noted.

Author

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Story

Youth! Don’t Allow To Be Misused By Politicians Ahead Of 2022 Poll

Next Story

Amos Kiplagat, Jackline Chelal Win Inaugural Koitalel Samoei Half Marathon

Latest from Agriculture