Acting ODM party leader Anyang Nyong’o/ODMThe Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has called on the Kenya Kwanza Administration to intervene and save wheat farmers in Narok and North Rift counties.
According to the party, the wheat farmers have nowhere to sell their produce, despite recording good harvests.
“The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is deeply concerned about the dire situation facing wheat farmers in Narok and North Rift counties. Despite recording a bumper harvest this season, these hardworking farmers find themselves with nowhere to sell their produce.
“Neither the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) nor private millers are purchasing wheat, exposing farmers to significant financial losses,” Acting party leader Anyang Nyong’o said.
The Opposition party demanded that the President William Ruto-led administration intervene by directing the NCPB to purchase locally-produced wheat at fair prices and regulate wheat imports to protect local farmers from unfair competition.
The party also called for the provision of immediate storage and logistical support to prevent post-harvest losses, as well as ensuring financial relief for affected farmers, including loan restructuring options.
Nyong’o insisted that the plight of wheat farmers is a national crisis that requires immediate and decisive action.
“The government must move with urgency to protect Kenya’s food producers and secure the country's agricultural future.”
He said the crisis has been exacerbated by the uncontrolled importation of cheap wheat by some ‘well-connected’ individuals.
He claimed that the cheap wheat has now flooded the market and undermined local producers.
Nyong’o said that without buyers, some of the farmers who are currently servicing loans will not be able to do so adding that this will put them at more risk.
He added that the government’s failure to protect local wheat farmers contradicts its policy of providing subsidized inputs, only to abandon them at the most critical moment.
“A nation that mistreats its farmers is courting food insecurity, deepening poverty and inequality, and fueling mass unemployment,” he said.
