President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday reviewed the cost of drying maize at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).
The president directed the cereal board to cut it's charges from Sh40 per unit drop to Sh20.
The 50 per cent drop he said, will ensure that farmers are able to dry and sell their maize with minimal post-harvest losses.
He further said that "The National Government will make sure that maize driers are made available to all maize growing areas by the coming season."
"These driers will be community based and therefore will be managed by a group of farmers/cooperatives at community level. This will ensure that farmers are able to store or sell their maize at the appropriate moisture content and thus contribute to enhance farmer incomes," he said.
Uhuru in a statement said the Covid-19 pandemic has posed great challenges to agricultural-based livelihoods and food security in the the country.
"I am glad to note that various mitigation measures were undertaken by all relevant stakeholders and therefore availability, access and affordability were attained," he said.
The Head of State further ordered that all unused NCPB stores be availed to farmers’ and farmer groups and traders for storage at an affordable cost.
Storage charges have been reviewed from Sh10 per bag monthly to Sh3.
"I also direct that the recommended minimum maize selling price by the farmers to be Sh2, 500 per 90kg of maize and require that Ministry enforces these prices," Uhuru said.
"The above interventions will therefore mean that the Country will have sufficient maize and therefore there will be no maize imports from outside COMESA/EAC. The millers are therefore directed to ensure that they prioritize mopping up all the maize all maize available locally."
He further asked the Ministry of Agriculture to engage with input suppliers to ensure that all inputs are available across the Country at affordable prices within one month, before the next planting season.
" I also note that there are outstanding payments due to the maize farmers. I therefore direct that payments to genuine farmers and traders who supplied maize to NCPB to be concluded by end of this week,"Uhuru said.
