Rice farmers in Mwea say they have yet to get all their dues for the deliveries to the Kenya National Trading Corporation.
But the trading corporation has urged them to be patient as it finds buyers for the stock in its depots.
In February 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the National Treasury to give a revolving fund of Sh660 million to KNTC to buy rice from farmers through cooperatives.
On Wednesday, Cooperative PS Ali Ismail told the Star the move was aimed at ensuring better prices for growers in Central and Nyanza.
He explained that KNTC buys rice from farmers’ cooperatives at a higher price than what is offered by the market, then sells it to government agencies like technical institutes, colleges, hospitals and schools.
“This is a revolving fund and sometimes the chain is not as fast as we would want it to be, so farmers should not be worried,” Ismail said, assuring farmers that payment will be made once KNTC receives the money.
KNTC managing director Pamela Mutua said as of August 2021, they had paid Sh534 million to farmers.
“I have a balance of Sh100 million, which I intend to pay immediately I get the money,” she said.
Mutua said out of the 108,000 bags of rice from Mwea Rice Growers, they had bought about 80,000 bags valued at Sh8 million by August. She said they would buy the remaining bags once they have money.
KNTC buys rice from cooperatives in cash and then sells it to government institutions on credit. It takes about 45 days to get payment from these institutions, hence the delay being experienced.
“KNTC has used this fund to buy rice from farmers at prices above the market price. For instance, for Mwea rice, KNTC buys a kilo of paddy at Sh85 against a market price of Sh78, while for sindano rice, the corporation buys at Sh45 against a market price of Sh37,” she said.
“The sum of Sh660 million is the total grant the national government has made available for purchasing rice. I, therefore, call upon farmers to be patient as we await payments for the rice already delivered and find buyers for the rice held in our stocks.
"Farmers are not limited to sell rice to the KNTC, the cooperatives are at liberty to sell their paddy to other traders.”