Maize sector 'weaponised' against Ruto - Rift leaders

Maize is back in the spotlight as Rift Valley farmers and leaders warn the government not to politicise the sector by interfering and importing too much.

Deputy President William Ruto’s allies on Tuesday took the maize debate to the Senate, accusing President Uhuru Kenyatta of punishing Rift Valley farmers to settle political scores.

CS for Agriculture Peter Munya had earlier announced the government would no longer buy maize for the Strategic Food Reserve. He said four million bags of maize are being imported to fill an anticipated shortage.

However, Ruto’s allies led by Senators Kipchumba Murkomen and Samson Cherargei accused the President of using the maize sector to expand his war against DP Ruto.

Rift Valley is one of the DP's bastions and some of his allies from the region have been purged and punished for perceived disloyalty to the President.

“The government is making well-calculated decisions on the maize sector as part of the scheme to undermine Ruto in his Rift Valley backyard that is the highest producer of cereals," Cherargei said on Tuesday.

He has written to Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka demanding a statement from CS Munya on why the government has decided not to buy maize from farmers without consultation.

“The farmers have not been consulted along with their leaders about what they want for the sector. Political decisions are being made to punish innocent farmers for no apparent sins they have committed. It’s just because the majority of the farmers happen to come from a certain region," Cherargei said.

Farmers in Eldoret on Wednesday joined the debate urging the government not to import maize beyond the determined shortfalls to avoid flooding the market and depressing prices

“The imports are expected when farmers will be a few months away from harvesting. We should not have markets full of imports as farmers harvest, farmers' representative Kipkorir Menjo said.

The government has allowed only millers to import the four million bags of maize with strict controls to avoid excess imports.

Murkomen and his colleagues also said failure by the government to cushion farmers through subsidised fertiliser is part of a plot against the DP and his backers.

“This stopping the purchase of maize from farmers is more than government policy. It is politics. I have always insisted that if people have their own fights about 2022, they should leave our farmers alone,” Murkomen said during the debate in the Senate.

Maize is the staple food for most Kenyans and the means of livelihood for most people in the Rift Valley. Maize issues are emotive, depending on how farmers and leaders are handled.

Farmer Petro Kibet and others warned political leaders from the region not to use maize to settle their scores at the national level.

Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny and others defended the President and asked Murkomen's team to stop dragging farmers into their own political problems.

“When farmers needed them most they were quiet. They are now shedding crocodile tears to get sympathy from the same farmers they've been frustrating all along," Kuttuny said.

Murkomen said some farmers are yet to be paid years after they delivered grain to the National Cereals and Produce Board.

“Those farmers have been profiled. They were not paid because they were linked to a particular person and then corruption was used as an excuse," he said.

The government recently published a gazette notice allowing the import of two million bags of white maize for human consumption and two million bags of yellow maize.

Agriculture CS Munya has told senators the government projected the current stocks in farms' stores will be insufficient when the country is battling calamities such as the locust infestation, floods and the coronavirus.

Cherargei asked what led the government to stop buying maize directly from farmers, knowing fully well the farmer depend entirely on the state for a market.

(Edited by V. Graham)