Protect maize farmers from cartels out to exploit them

A recent announcement by President Uhuru Kenyatta while on the campaign trail that the Government had set aside Sh6.5 billion to purchase maize from farmers in the bread basket region of Kenya has sparked frenzied buying by exploitative cartels that have driven farmers to their knees in the past.

Once a guaranteed source of income, maize farming has lost its allure due to the high cost of production and minimal returns.

The farmer can no longer recoup input owing to the poor exploitative prices offered by middlemen while the National Cereals and Produce Board doors remain closed.

This accounts in large measure for the dip in maize production, compelling the country to import maize when it has the capacity to produce surplus for export.

Bad weather may have played a role in the waning production, but the main culprit is lack of clear Government policies that protect the farmer and motivate him to produce more.

It has been the farmer’s expectation that a 90 kilogramme bag of maize would tentatively retail at Sh3,000 as the harvesting period gets underway, but they are set to be disappointed.

Taking advantage of the prevailing economic hardships and failure to open NCPFB stores, middlemen anticipating a kill when the Government releases the funds are buying a 90 kilogramme bag of maize at between Sh2,000 and Sh23,000.

If this country seeks to motivate farmers with a view to stepping up production, this mischief is untenable.

The Government's first line of action should be to insulate the farmers against middlemen by making it hard for the cartels to operate, secure in the knowledge desperate farmers have no alternative but to accept the low prices.

It is imperative to outline prices at which a 90kg bag of maize should retail and open the NCPB stores countrywide.

In May this year, the Government had to pay Sh3,600 per 90kg bag, which it later sold to millers at the discounted price of Sh2,300 per bag to cover a serious maize shortage the country was experiencing at the time.

Urgent interventions are needed to save dispirited farmers from unscrupulous dealers.