• The PS acknowledged that millers have invested in aflatoxin testing and that the proficiency test results are verified by a third party to ensure healthy products.
• Smart production will enable millers to adequately respond to market demands faster and reduce product wastage and financial losses.
Image: FILE
Millers will henceforth easily access maize, thanks to the warehouse receipt system, according to Agriculture Principal Secretary Hamadi Boga.
Boga said the Warehouse Receipting Council will operationalise a structured form of trading in grains now that the Warehouse Receipt System Act 2019 is being implemented.
“Through this, millers will access the commodities with ease. Quality and quantity will be assured as well as the enforcement of standards,” he said during the Cereal Millers Association 20th anniversary celebrations on Thursday.
He said the cereal sub-sector has the potential to achieve food and nutrition security, improve farmer and local community incomes, lower the cost of food, and increase employment especially for women and youths.
The PS acknowledged that millers had invested in aflatoxin testing to ensure that products offered to consumers are healthy, and that the proficiency test results are verified by a third party.
“To provide nutritious food, CMA members have maintained a fortification programme for flour, which was initiated for the first time in 2010,” he said.
CMA chairman Mohamed Islam said the Covid-19 pandemic had adversely affected the grain milling industry, forcing most companies to alter their operations to adapt to the present circumstances.
“However, I believe we are coming out of the downturn stronger than ever before with a resolve to restructure our organisations. I applaud the government for working together with stakeholders in ensuring several safety measures are in place to mitigate the spread of this deadly virus,” he said.
Islam said the milling industry is digitising and modernising technology to increase employee productivity, accelerate growth and secure the future.
He said smart production in flour mills will enable millers to adequately respond to market demands faster and reduce product wastage and financial losses.
“The emergence of new farming practices by producers and change in consumer demand patterns remains the most important drivers for growth," he said.
CMA chief executive Paloma Fernandes said they had a membership of 42 grain milling companies and seven international grain traders, with many applications in the pipeline.
Their daily milling capacity is 20,000 tonnes and six million tonnes annually. This accounts for 90 per cent wheat milling and 40 per cent of the maize milling in the country.
The association dates back to 1994 bur was registered in 2000 with the objective of dealing with policy issues, removal of trade barriers and creating a conducive business environment for the grain milling industry.
Fernandes said one of their biggest challenges has been aflatoxins.
“To mitigate this, CMA has emphasised on company-driven self-regulating mechanisms, with emphasis on the use of correct protocols and data collection.
"With the growing awareness and demand for nutritious products, members have diversified their product ranges to include fortified, blended and gluten-free foods,” she said.
- mwaniki fm