Trans Nzoia farmers reject government's Ksh.3,500 per 90Kg maize price offer

Farmers in Trans Nzoia County have rejected the government’s offer to buy maize from them at Ksh.3,500 per 90kg.

The farmers, whose maize in the fields is ripe for harvest, are protesting the low prices offered by the government and want it to increase the budget allocated to buy maize from them.

The development comes after Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Dr. Andrew Karanja last week announced that the government, through the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), will purchase one million bags for the aforementioned price and quantity.

"Gharama ya kuzalisha gunia moja ya mahindi ni 4,000. Mkulima anatarajia kuuza 5,500 ndio apate faida, lakini sasa hii tunauza 2,800 kwa gunia. Kuchelewa kwa kufunguliwa kwa NCPB kumechangia sana bei ya mahindi kurudi chini, sababu hakuna control. Ma cartels ndio wanafaidika kwa mahindi ya mkulima," Jonathan Melly, a Trans Nzoia farmer, said.

Last week, CS Dr Karanja issued a circular announcing that the government intends to buy 1 million bags of maize from farmers to bolster the national strategic food reserves, which are currently at 30%.

By admission, the government projects maize production for the 2024 long rains season to surpass 42 million 90kg bags of the grain.

Farmers and stakeholders have questioned the government’s rationale for buying only 1 million bags, sparking widespread concern over the fate of the surplus, which experts warn may result in harvest losses and affect the country’s food security in the coming days.

"Trans Nzoia inajulikana kama food basket. National government iko na majukumu mawili muhimu, kuhakikisha kuwa fertilizer inafika wakati unaofaa na kuhakikisha soko ya nafaka ikue stabilized ili mkulima apate bei inayofaa," said Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya.

The proposed purchase price reflects a notable reduction from earlier rates, which stood at Ksh.4,000 earlier in the year, and has reignited farmers' concerns about the profitability of maize farming, with prices dropping to between Ksh.2,200 and Ksh.2,700 in some regions.

The farmers are demanding that the government reconsider the buying price and raise it.

"Sisi kama wakulima, wakati ya kulima tuko na changamoto, wakati wa kupanda tuko na changamoto na wakati wa kuuza pia tuko na changamoto. Sasa wakulima wakifa moyo na hii kusumbuliwa wakati ya kupanda na kuuza wataacha kulima mahindi na hiyo italeta shida sababu hiyo ndio staple food yetu hapa Kenya," Melly added.

However, Agriculture PS Dr Kipronoh Ronoh has justified the government’s decision, saying subsidized fertilizer prices have greatly reduced production costs for farmers, adding that it is a free market, and farmers are free to sell their produce to whoever they want.

Data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicates that the price of 2-kilogram maize flour dropped by 1.7%, while sifted maize flour dipped by 1.8% in October.