Green grams, beans and rice farmers can now sell their produce to the National Cereals and Produce Board at better prices.
NCPB has so far purchased 42,000- 50kg bags of beans and 42,600 bags of paddy rice from farmers across the country.
This is in addition to more than 700,000 (50kg) bags of maize.
NCPB managing director Joseph Kimote said the board has been buying farm produce with the aim of providing farmers with a stable source of income and a market for their commodities.
He said this will help reduce post-harvest losses, provide a ready market for farmers, help in commercialising agriculture and reduce exploitation of farmers by the middlemen as payment is done on the spot.
NCPB is buying a bag of beans at Sh4,000, while the local market price is Sh3,800 for a 50kg bag. A kilo of pishori rice is going at Sh58 in the local market, while NCPB is buying at between Sh60 and Sh65 per kilo.
Kimote spoke to the Star on Tuesday while launching the customer outreach campaign during the start of the Customer Service Week.
He said the aim of the campaign is to create awareness of the board’s products under the Nafaka Foods Brand including maize, rice, beans and green grams.
The campaign will be carried out in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Mombasa, Embu and Kisumu.
“The board trades commercially in quality maize, rice, wheat, and in an array of pulses including beans and green grams that conforms to Kebs standards and meet the expectations of the customers under the Nafaka Foods brand.
"We also offer grain-post harvest services, lease a range of its facilities, and offer clearing and forwarding services under the banner of Huduma Poa Services brand,” he said.
On wheat purchase by the board, Kimote said the uptake has been slow because wheat production in the country has dwindled and the little that is produced is immediately bought by millers.
“Wheat production in the country has gone down and the millers dealing with the produce have to buy the local wheat first before they are given a permit to import. There is aggressiveness to buy from farmers as quickly as possible due to the dwindling acreage of wheat. If this trend continues, we will have very minimal wheat in Kenya," he said.
In July, Agriculture CS Peter Munya ordered millers to purchase a 90kg bag of wheat from farmers at a minimum price of Sh3,700.
This, the CS said, would boost and cushion farmers and ensure millers exhaust all local produce before they are allowed to import.
-Edited by SKanyara
