Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press,
Fellow Kenyans,
Yesterday, the president, in the company of two Governors from North Rift announced measures supposedly meant to address the plight of maize farmers in the North Rift and enhance food security in the country.
In his address, the President gave 8 directives regarding this matter, to which I will respond as follows;
1. The idea that NCPB is merely a drying and storage facility is, in and of itself, an insult to the very farmers that we are trying to shield. What the maize farmers want to hear is why the government stopped NCPB from buying maize from them, which is a departure from a long-established and economically empowering trend embraced by former Presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Moi, and Mwai Kibaki for over 50 years. The abrupt stoppage of this exercise, without public participation, has left farmers exposed to the vagaries of market forces and implacable cartels.
It is further shocking that the government said nothing about restoring NCPB’s mandate to purchase maize from farmers, something that should have been the centrepiece of the president’s address, if his expression of interest in helping maize farmers was to be believed.
2. I’m equally shocked that the government has directed maize to be bought at ksh2,500, to the detriment of the farmers who are in need of government support now more than ever to be able to deal with the economic shocks brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It seems discriminatory that while the government is rolling out intervention measures to revive other sectors of the economy, farmers are being asked to accept a paltry 2,500, despite the high cost of production.
3. When the government directed that that maize be bought at Ksh2,500, who was this order directed to, considering it has stopped NCPB from purchasing the maize from farmers in the first place? Supposing this order was directed at private business entities like maize millers, what law would it be anchored on? Isn’t this just a PR gimmick meant to hoodwink farmers into believing that something is being done to alleviate their suffering when in fact their pain is being aggravated?
4. Since independence, Kenyan governments have always supplied input to farmers at subsidized prices; this was however stopped abruptly by this administration. The question I ask is, can the national government explain why it is not offering subsidized farm inputs to maize farmers this year? Why is the government leaving farmers to the mercy of farm input suppliers? Why is the government looking so helpless to the point of pleading with these suppliers and predatory cartels to set good prices for farmers? Why is that directive coming from the government of Kenya?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is what the maize farmers in the country want;
1. The restoration of subsidized farm inputs supplied under the directions of the Government of Kenya by NCPB, as has been the case since independence.
2. A return to the purchase of maize by NCPB which would also be used to store and dry maize as they have been doing since independence.
3. The purchase of maize at Ksh3,500 to shield farmers from the losses occasioned by high production costs and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering other sectors of the economy have been cushioned, maize farmers should not be the exception.
4. Farmers also want an immediate convention of a national conference to discuss deteriorating agricultural sector in country that has affected tea, coffee, maize, and dairy farmers among others.
5. Lastly, even as the government addresses the non-payment for the deliveries farmers made to NCPB three years ago, these payments must be made, inclusive of interest computed using current bank rates from the time they delivered their maize.
Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is shameful for leaders from maize growing regions to be part of this PR exercise being propagated by the government through Ministry of Agriculture to hoodwink our farmers who look up to us for redemption from the tentacles of poverty. I challenge the government to desist from playing games with farmers through the perpetuation of lies and deception; the government must instead get serious and address real issues that have condemned our farmers to a state of hopelessness. Only then will we make Kenya a food-secure nation.
Signed,
Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen, E.G.H.,
Senator, Elgeyo Marakwet.
29th September, 2020
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