• Noah Wekesa says the country may only need 2 million bags of maize imports as a precautionary measure.
• Farmers want the government to set maize price at Sh3,000 and above this year.
Farmers from Rift Valley have asked Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri to resign accusing him of incompetence.
The angry farmers led by Moiben MP Sila Tiren met in Eldoret with the chairman of the Strategic Food Reserves Fund Noah Wekesa.
Tiren wondered why Kiunjuri was quick to have the government pay maize importers Sh1.8 billion debts yet more than Sh8 billion owed to the NCPB remained unpaid.
"If he was releasing money to pay debts, then priority should have been given to NCPB first and not individuals," Tiren said.
The MP said the payments were illegal because the money had not been approved by Wekesa's board.
Wekesa insisted that there is no need to import maize because farmers expect good harvests.
He said only 2 million bags of maize should be imported, as a precaution, by August and given to millers.
"As a board, we said the importation will just be as a matter of precaution to ensure we don't face any shortages before harvesting although we foresee no shortages", Wekesa said.
Other farmers representatives including lawyer Simon Lilan, Paul Kerich and David Boinnet accused Kiunjuri of siding with cartels frustrating farmers.
“If he is unable to run the ministry as required he should resign and let the president appoint someone else to help farmers,” Tiren said.
Lilan said Kiunjuri and those involved in the payment of Sh1.8 billion debts acted illegally and were criminals who should be prosecuted.
Wekesa said he was still working well with CS Kiunjuri though his board made decisions as required under its mandate.
“Many of you farmers have talked but my mandate is not to dictate the President on who should be in the Cabinet. At the moment Kiunjuri is the CS for Agriculture and we have to work with him,” Wekesa said.
Despite giving views that may not be similar to those of the CS, he said he highly respects Kiunjuri as head of the ministry.
He said the importation will be done from neighbouring countries like Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Also present was the director of the Kenya Farmers Association Kipkorir Menjo
Farmers recommended that the price of maize should not be less than sh 3,000 per 90kg bag this year.
Wekesa said the sector could only operate well if all stakeholders are consulted on key issues.
He said pricing of maize must take care of the interest of both farmers and consumers.
Wekesa said imported fertilizer should arrive in the country by November instead of usual delays which expose farmers to use of poor quality inputs.
"We have advised the government to ensure that it does not bring in fertilizer as late as March when farmers have already started planting," Wekesa said.
He said the board had visited South Africa where many farmers were operating under the Warehouse Receipting System that was effective in helping farmers market their produce.
"We want our farmers to adopt the same system here in Kenya and we will work with other stakeholders on this issue," Wekesa said.
Tiren however said there was need for the government to introduce the warehouse receipting system in a way that would benefit farmers.
"We should always keep the interest of farmers first", he said.
He said on the issue of maize pricing it was important to consider the cost of production among other challenges which farmers face.
The MP said operations of millers should also be looked into.
"During our meetings, CS Kiunjuri keeps on referring to millers yet we know some of the millers are known to be working with cartels," Tiren said.
The MP also asked the government to remove most of the taxes on farm inputs which are the main cause of the high cost of farming in the country.
Menjo said the NCPB should be allowed to sell off all the maize it is supposed to release to millers in readiness for fresh purchase from farmers this year.
He said the government should also ensure that only quality fertilizer is imported for use by farmers
(edited by O. Owino)