The government has released Sh400 million for the payment of maize farmers starting Wednesday, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa has said.
Mr Wamalwa announced this on Tuesday, assuring all farmers who supplied their produce to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) will get their money.
TIMELY PAY
The growers supplied their produce to the NCPB in the five months to March.
In West Pokot on Tuesday, Mr Wamwalwa said they started by releasing Sh900 million to the farmers, who have long complained about delays that have affected their businesses and their families’ welfare.
He said the National Treasury released Sh1.4 billion early this month to clear part of the Sh3.5 billion that is owed.
The CS announced that vetting was completed so “the payment will commence immediately – from tomorrow”.
“I am happy to announce that we have been paying farmers. Farmers have been complaining that payments were going to unscrupulous traders at the expense of growers. We shall pay them all so that we can start buying maize from them again,” he said at Makutano Stadium. “We shall make sure every farmer who took his or her maize to the NCPB is paid on time.”
VETTING
Many farmers have been demanding their dues for maize delivered between last October and March.
The government started vetting them in April after discovering that unscrupulous traders had imported cheap grain from Uganda, and supplied it to the NCPB, to benefit from the Sh3,200 price offered per 90-kilogramme bag.
West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo supported President Uhuru Kenyatta’s call to nab fraudsters posting as maize brokers, traders and middlemen.
“They should be put behind bars as farmers who toil in their farms suffer while unscrupulous traders exploit them,” said Mr Lonyangapuo.
He cited the cases of West Pokot and Trans Nzoia, which he said have suffered significant losses due to the influx of cheap maize prices from Uganda, which has pushed their produce out of the market.
“Cheap maize from Uganda has made farmers not to sell their maize,” he said.
Agriculture minister Mwangi Kiunjuri earlier asked the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to speed up investigations into maize scandalas.