NCPB asked to allow direct purchases of maize

Bungoma Agricultural Producers Association has asked the National Cereals and Produce Board to open its stores and allow direct purchases of maize.

This, they said,  is aimed at stopping the sale of maize produce to the middlemen that have invaded the region.

Farmers in Chwele, Kimilili, Kamukunywa, Mayanja and Bungoma have decried low maize prices from the buyers.

Interim Chairman Bungoma Agricultural Producers Association Andrian Mukhebi said that the middlemen have descended upon the farmers paying low prices to purchase maize despite farmers needing cash.

Mukhebi, however, said the opening of NCPB stores will enable the farmers to deliver their maize for purchase at a good price by the boards

“We took advantage of the government’s subsidized fertilizer and we have had a bumper harvest but the middlemen have taken advantage of our desperate farmers, our people are selling maize at a throwaway price,” he said on Thursday.

The organization’s chairman thanked the government for announcing the establishment of the warehouse receipt system.

Mukhebi said the system will enable the farmers to harvest their produce and store the harvest on the boards until the prices improve.

He said the farmers will get financing to solve the cash problems as they wait for the market promises to improve.

The interim chairman also said providing more stable and secure markets for farmers will also play a pivotal role in supporting rural development and mitigating the distress faced by farming communities.

“We are ready to collaborate with both levels of government to create an agricultural landscape where farmers are respected, protected and fairly compensated for their contribution to national food security,” he said.

He said when farmers sell maize to the middlemen, it risks the region facing hunger in future and they transport the produce outside the region.

Samuel Waitara, Silo manager at Bungoma NCPB, told the Star that the region has received a bumper harvest attributed to the government’s subsidy fertilizer program.

He said currently, farmers are taking fertiliser from the NCPB in preparation for the second season of planting.