Boost for farmers as county to set up first commodity exchange

Governor Wycliffe Wangamati. [Photo: Courtesy]

Farmers in Bungoma are in for a big boon after the county government announced plans to set up a pilot commodity exchange.

This will be a first for the county considering plans to set up a national commodity exchange are yet to be actualised. The Trade ministry has set a June deadline for the exchange, which is a platform where various commodities, futures and derivatives are traded.

Ease access

Agricultural products such as milk, wheat, barley, sugar and maize are some of the popular commodity in the exchanges.

The exchange is meant to operate in the larger East African Community, with Rwanda already running one while Kenya and Uganda are laying legal and infrastructural structures.

Governor Wycliffe Wangamati said the move was meant to link farmers directly to markets.

“Through the commodity exchange, we will be able to ease farmers’ access to markets and therefore motivate them to do more through improved earnings their harvest,” he said during a recent meeting with International Trade Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo and Technical Advisor to the PS Constant Kandie.

During the meeting at the county head office, the two parties resolved to establish a joint working committee in two weeks’ time to set up the commodity exchange.

Some of the commodity earmarked to trade at the exchange include maize, beans, green grams, soya beans, carrots and cabbages.