Maize farmers who took their produce to National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) last year can finally get to enjoy the fruits of their labour after, after the government started the process of paying maize farmers, prioritising smallholder maize farmers from the sh1.4 billion, disbursed by the National Treasury.
This follows a critical decision by the Devolution Ministry to settle the debts to farmers, who have in the past complained about delayed payments for maize sold to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). The government has been owing farmers Sh3.5 billion and the Sh1.4 billion released by the National Treasury is meant to settle the debt and encourage farmers.
“The Ministry of Devolution, the Ministry of Agriculture and NCPB have set up a system to disburse the available funds equitably. The process shall be done in a transparent and credible manner,” said Devolution Principal Secretary Charles Sunkuli in the statement
“We anticipate this exercise to be concluded within 21 days effective from August 20. Special desks have been set up in all depots and these shall remain operational until the exercise is completed,” he added
A bag of 90 kg will be purchased at Sh3,200 by the government for maize delivered to NPCB. These payments were to be made in January this year, but the delay has been very profitable to maize farmers in the country.
The ministry said the process of processing payments would be coordinated at the NCPB offices countrywide to ensure the process is fair just and, completed on time.
The maize farmers are required to return filled forms indicating the amount they are claiming from NCPB by Tuesday, with the payments expected to be concluded over the next three weeks. They are to also present their farmer’s claims in the respective areas for certification by their area chief and county agricultural officers.