Farmers urged to use NCPB depots

Meru,

Monday, January 22, 2024,

KNA by Dickson Mwiti 

 Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi has called on farmers to make use of the National Produce and Cereals Board (NCPB) depots to store their produce safely.

Addressing teachers at Gikumene Primary School grounds in Meru during their annual general meeting, the CS said farmers especially in Eastern and Central regions were nearing the harvest season of their maize and other cereals and they could take advantage of the depots to store their produce safely.

 “Our depots are already open for storage of farmers’ produce and we have also operationalized the warehouse receipt system. What is required of you is to bring your maize and other cereals to our stores and you will be issued with a receipt. You can always sell your maize when the prices are favorable,” said Mr Linturi.

 To avoid incidences of aflatoxin, the CS added, the government has already started distributing mobile driers to all the depots in the country which will aid in drying cereals so they can last longer.

“I have already issued the driers to other parts of the country and soon we will be bringing them to Meru County. These are some of the measures the government through this ministry is implementing to reduce post-harvest losses in key maize growing regions,” said Mr Linturi.

To ensure farmers get good returns for their maize, the CS said the government has set a Guaranteed Minimum Return (GMR) at Sh4,000 as well as subsidizing the cost of production which calls for farmers to expand their scope of farming.

 He further appealed to farmers to increase production of maize, sunflower, canola, and palm oil, which will help the government to save Sh120 billion annually that we spend on importing edible oil.

 “We need to get back to our farms and do more since the Kenya Kwanza government is committed to supporting you in this. If we produce more maize, wheat, and other types of food, we will save the Sh620 billion that we pay for food. I this we will be able to stabilize our economy greatly,” said Mr Linturi.

 He added: “I would like to thank the farmers who heeded our call to go back into the farms and produce more. This has enabled us to increase the production of maize from 34 million bags in 2022 to 62 million in 2023. We are expecting to also increase this following the interventions we are making towards the agricultural sector.”

Courtesy; KNA