Win for farmers as NCPB now buying 90kg bag of maize at Ksh.5,600

This is according to NCPB Managing Director Joseph Kimeto who says they have increased the price from Ksh.5,100.

Speaking when he appeared before the Public Investments Social Services Administration and Agriculture Committee on Thursday, Mr. Kimeto however said that as of now there is no maize in the strategic food reserve as they were not allocated any monies to buy maize.

The NCPB boss noted that they currently only have 50,000 bags of maize that belongs to the World Bank.

Mr. Kimeto also told Emmanuel Wangwe-led committee that they intend to sell 6 million bags of fertilizer for the long rains.

Members of Parliament, especially those from the Lower Eastern region, expressed fears over the quality of the government subsidized fertilizer, claiming most farmers who used it didn't receive any harvest.

Kaiti MP Joshua Kimilu claimed farmers in his constituency got huge losses having used the fertilizer as compared to those who didn't.

Mr. Kimeto said they have received concerns from some farmers and they have contracted the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) to conduct research on the suitability of the fertilizer in various regions.