IN SUMMARY:
▪ The President assured rice farmers that subsidized fertilizer will be sold to them directly so as to ensure they are not overcharged by middlemen.
▪ He asked Kenya Power to lower the electricity tariff to reduce the cost of Rice milling.
President Uhuru Kenyatta today Saturday February 1 directed all government institutions to buy only locally produced rice to ensure farmers reap maximum returns from their hard work.
The President also directed the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) to be buying rice from the farmers at a cost of Ksh 85 per kilo of paddy instead of the current Ksh 50 per kilo.
- “It is a free market but as a government we will be buying the locally produced rice at Ksh 85 per kilo of paddy,” said the President
“We said when we ushered in the New Year that this year we would like to address the various problems facing the farmers.,” he added
Speaking in Mwea, Kirinyaga county, after touring the Mwea Rice Millers (MRM) the Head of State said that the government has set aside Ksh 500 million as a revolving fund to ensure farmers are paid promptly once they deliver rice to their cooperative societies for onward transmission to the Kenya National Trading Corporation.
- “If we do that and continue to buy the locally produced rice, as government, we will encourage private buyers to also pay more for the rice from farmers. said the President
- “It is a free market but as a government we will be buying the locally produced rice at Ksh 85 per kilo of paddy,” he added
The President also assured rice farmers that subsidized fertilizer will be sold to them directly so as to ensure they are not overcharged by middlemen.
The President said the government is focused on reviving and improving the performance of rice mills so that farmers will not suffer losses because of lacking functional mills to process their produce.
Read Also: West Kano Farmers Counting Heavy Loses After Floods Destroy 1,030 Acres Of Rice Plantation.
Adding that his government is focused on reviving and improving the performance of rice mills so that farmers will not suffer losses because of lacking functional mills to process their produce.
- “We have a hard working Agriculture CS (Peter Munya) and after a year we will be back here to see the work he has done to revive and improve the rice mills,” he said.
President Kenyatta, who later flagged off trucks carrying rice from farmers to the Kenya National Trading Corporation warehouses countrywide, reiterated his call for all Kenyans to embrace peace and unity.
He asked Kenya Power to lower the electricity tariff to reduce the cost of milling and ordered the rice factory to ensure that farmers benefit from the savings that will accrue from the lower electricity tariffs.
