It is now emerging that maize farmers in Trans Nzoia county are likely to lose over Ksh1 billion worth of produce to exploitative brokers this year.
This has been revealed by Trans Nzoia Agriculture County Executive Committee Member (CECM) Phanice Naliaka Khatundi.
Speaking in Kitale during the Sensitization of farmers about the Warehouse Receipt System, Khatundi said the county’s annual target of 6 million bags of 90 kilograms of maize may not be achieved this year.
“Some farmers sold green maize to brokers and roasting maize traders while others sold to dairy farmers for silage-making purposes. Therefore, we are likely to get 5.6 million bags. The monetary value of that loss is over 1 billion shillings,” Khatundi said.
Warehouse Receipt System
She however noted that the use of the Warehouse Receipt System is the only way farmers can avoid further losses.
The County Executive further said that 20 Warehouses have been identified in Trans Nzoia where four of them have been certified by the Warehouse Receipt System Council for piloting of the programme.
“Our main Warehouse in the county is Store number 14 at the Kitale NCPB depot. We have also identified and certified Kapsitwet in Kwanza Constituency, Wamuini in Kiminini, and Sinyereri in Cherang’any Constituency,” Khatundi stated.
Although the programme was launched three years ago by the former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, 80 per cent of farmers are yet to embrace it.
Khatundi attributed the low utilization rate to a lack of awareness, high transportation costs and poor road network.
“After assessing the performance of this pilot programme, we shall then identify and certify other warehouses in every ward and we urge our farmers to embrace this noble programme,” she appealed.
On his part, Trade, Commerce and Industrialization County Executive Committee Member (CECM) Stanley Kirui said his department will do market linkages for aggregated commodities.
“As a department, we shall provide market linkages. We commit to ensure that our farmers get good returns from their investments,” Kirui said.
He said the programme is meant to reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmers’ profit margins.
Collateral for loans in some lenders
In the month of June, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development requested more than KSh1 billion from the National Treasury to operationalize the warehouse receipt system.
Warehouse Receipt is a process where owners of commodities deposit their commodities in a certified warehouse, they are issued warehouse receipts as proof of ownership.
The receipt can be used as collateral for loans in some lenders that have already signed a working partnership with the Warehouse Receipt System Council.
Equity Bank, Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), Family Bank and Cooperative Bank are some of the financial institutions onboarded. The
The Warehouse Receipt System Council was established through the Warehouse Receipt System Act 2019.
