Editor's Review

CS Linturi said the prices will help farmers not be taken advantage of by brokers. 

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi has stated that the government will announce new maize prices from next week.

Speaking on Thursday, August 31 in Kitale during Kenya Seed Company field day, Linturi said the government is consulting with other stakeholders before announcing favorable prices to farmers.

“I will be announcing the new minimum price of maize because it is necessary that farmers are not taken advantage of by brokers. We are consultation with other stakeholders to be able to fix the price,” said Linturi.

The Agriculture CS also noted that the government will buy a million bags of maize from farmers for National Strategic Reserve.

File image of Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi. 

Linturi at the same time announced that the government will provide maize driers to farmers within the next thirty days.

“I have farmers drying their maize on tarmac and in fields using canvas. The good news is that in the next 30 days, we will be able to get mobile driers to our farmers because we want to ensure that the food grown is properly managed so that we don’t waste our maize because of infestation of aflatoxin,” Linturi added.

This comes a day after the Cabinet agreed to release maize prices ahead of the expected bumper harvest in the country.

The Cabinet also sanctioned the expedited implementation of the Warehouse Receipting System and authorized the operationalization of the newly promulgated Strategic Food Reserve Regulations, 2023.