Showdown Looms Between Govt & Farmers With Govt’s Latest Prices

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It is a big blow for farmers after the Cabinet yesterday approved the purchase of 2 million bags of maize from local farmers at a price of Shs 2300 per bag.

On November 12th, Kiunjuri suspended the maize price as announced by the Strategic Food Reserve Fund (SFRF). SFRF, intended to buy 2.5 million bags from the 2018/19 harvest, said the government was to pay Sh2,300 per 90-kg bag.

Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri said the suspension was a result of the outcry by governors and maize farmers over the set price. He also added that the government has deployed experts to inspect 3.5 million bags of maize at NCPB reserves.

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A Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi and attended by Deputy President William Ruto approved proposals by the Ministry of Agriculture to purchase the maize as part of the ongoing proactive efforts by the Government to support local farmers.

In recent months, the President has called for urgent interventions to protect local maize farmers from market challenges including delayed payments.

Cabinet believes that this move is a major relief to local farmers who have been raising concerns about the lack of an assured local market for their produce.

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The new prices come at a time when the country is embroiled in the Maize scandal with a section of MPs from the Rift Valley led by Alfred Keter and Joshua Kutuny accusing the DP William Ruto of masterminding it.

The Legislators claim that Ruto has a well calculated plan that has even included discouraging people from the Rift Valley from engaging in Maize farming and instead adopt avocado and macadamia farming.

According to Keter, Ruto cannot tell people to engage in Avocado and Macadamia farming without telling people what happened to the maize.

“You can’t be telling us to plant avocados, plant macadamia but you are not telling us what happened to maize…Now you have gone even to Congo. You are growing 500,000 acres of maize,” said Keter without producing any evidence.

What do you think about the maize prices and how does it affect Kenyan farmers?

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