KENYAN FARMERS FACE TOUGH TIMES AS PAYMENT, FERTILISER DELAY

NAIROBI-Farmers in the North Rift are undergoing hard times, with many of them yet to prepare their farms for planting this season following delay in payment of their dues by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).

Their woes have been compounded after subsidised fertiliser, which had been delivered to NCPB stores in the region ran out.

“We are very worried following the onset of the rains. We fear we may not be able to prepare our farms and purchase inputs on time due to lack of funds that will be a big blow to the country’s food security,” said Felix Kiprono, a farmer from Moiben in Uasin Gishu County.

A spot check by the Sunday Nation in many NPCB depots in the grain basket found many farmers stranded unable to get the inputs. “We’ve been told that the only available fertiliser is for top dress which we don’t need at the moment as we want planting fertiliser. “We are literally stuck despite the onset of rains which is conducive for planting,” said Stephen Gathuo, chairman of Leng’use Farmers’ Cooperative Society. He said their cooperative requires more than 6,000 bags of the subsidised fertiliser but they have only managed to get 500 bags. The state of affairs has put farmers at loggerheads with the Jubilee administration with them demanding the removal of Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri for failure to address their plight.

The aggrieved farmers have faulted the government for allowing the importation of maize from Uganda, delayed payment of money for their maize deliveries to the NCPB as well as failure to deliver fertiliser on time.

Jesses Mais, a farmer, said that it was unfortunate that the country had allowed importation of maize from Uganda yet Kenyan farmers can produce enough food.