NCPB to pay Sh3,700 for a bag of wheat

The purchase will be under the Wheat Purchase Programme. [Courtesy]

Stakeholders in the cereals sector have agreed on a producer price of Sh3,700 per 90-kilogramme bag of wheat to help farmers increase production of the crop that has been diminishing over the years.

The National Assembly’s Committee on Agriculture led the negotiations with the government and millers in a move aimed at encouraging farmers to revitalise wheat production across the country.

Mr Silas Tiren, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on agriculture, noted that more than 70 per cent of wheat consumed in the country is imported with local farmers contributing below 30 per cent.

“Millers, farmers’ representatives and the government have agreed on producer price of Sh 3,700 and we are currently working on measures to ensure the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) purchase wheat from farmers from the current season on a commercial basis,” said Tiren.

Tiren said he expects to see NCPB resume purchase of wheat from farmers after years of only concentrating on maize, exposing wheat farmers to low prices offered by middlemen.

Last month, NCPB Managing Director Joseph Kimote announced that NCPB will participate in the purchase of the current season of wheat.

In a statement, the MD said the purchase will be under the Wheat Purchase Programme.