Bumper harvest now a nightmare for farmers

Cooperative Development minister Joseph Nyaga accompanied by assistant minister Linah Kilimo (centre) during a tour of New KCC (Kenya Cooperative Creameries), Eldoret depot recently. The factory’s manager, Jane Maiyo is on the right. Dairy farmers in the area face a milk glut. Photo/JARED NYATAYA

What you need to know:

  • Bad roads and lack of market conspire to dampen the morale of North Rift growers

Food crops worth millions of shillings are rotting on farms in the country’s grain basket of North Rift, as farmers cannot access market for the produce.

Heavy rains have been pounding the area, rendering most roads impassable.

Grain farmers in the region are faced with difficulties in selling more than 600,000 bags of maize harvested last season owing to a crisis in marketing and the bad state of roads.

Also going to waste is more than 80,000 litres of milk due to increased production that has stretched beyond the processing capacity of New KCC (Kenya Cooperative Creameries) and private creameries.

Counting losses

Horticultural farmers in the region are also counting losses owing to market glut and the pathetic state of roads. Crop worth more than Sh35 million is going to waste.

The district received over Sh27 million from vegetables last season and additional Sh3.4 millions from fruits.

According to the annual agricultural report, the district earned Sh5.2 million from over 17,000 metric tones of cabbage planted in 247 hectares.

“Heavy rains have made it impossible to access market for our produce despite plentiful harvest,” said Ms Rachael Chematia from Tot area of Marakwet District.

Landslides have hit parts of Kerio Valley region as rains pound parts of the country rendering most roads impassable.

Uasin Gishu District earned Sh4.5 million from 3,000 tonnes of tomatoes last year and additional Sh14.4 million from potatoes and Sh2.4 million from kales (Sukuma wiki).

Reports indicate that the district earned Sh1.8 million from 52,500 metric tonnes of passion fruit cultivated on an approximate area of 150 hectares.

The revenue, however, reflects a loss of Sh400,000 due to decline in acreage under cultivation of fruits from the targeted 164 hectares of land.

According to the report, passion fruit production in Uasin Gishu was expected to increase to over 6,000 metric tonnes this season, but the projections might not be achieved due to disease and an outbreak of pests.

North Rift earned Sh13.6 billion last year from horticultural produce, up from Sh8.6 billion it earned the previous year.

Due to heavy rains, however, farmers are suffering heavy losses.

Dairy farmers in the region are likewise experiencing losses due to lack of market for the produce and impassable roads.

Dairy farmers in the region have incurred a loss of over Sh2.5 million in two months from over one million kilogrammes of milk that has gone to waste due to lack of market.

The region has an estimated 1.2 million dairy cows and between 400,000 and 500,000 heifers.

“Attractive prices offered by New KCC and support from international partners motivated us to venture into modern dairy farming, but we can’t find market for the produce,” said Mr John Kiptoo from Chepkumia, Nandi South District.

Daily milk delivery to the New KCC factory in Eldoret has doubled from 40,000 to 80,000 litres in the last two months against the current processing capacity of 6,000 litres.

The department with a capacity of 300,000 litres cannot operate at its maximum level after some of the machines were vandalised.

“A severe milk glut should be expected in the next six months. Production will be high due to sufficient pasture, as most parts of the country will be experiencing rains,” Mr Kiptoo said. He described New KCC’s reduction of producer prices from Sh24 to Sh21 per litre as unjustified.

Commenting on the situation that has made it impossible for farmers to sell more than 600,000 bags of maize they harvested last season, Mr Musa Barno of Kenya Federation of Agricultural Producers (Kenfap) Uasin Gishu chapter said: “The government should consider improving the roads to ease transportation of inputs and farm produce. This will save us from exploitation by cartels of traders.”

Mr Peter Boit, a large scale maize farmer in Uasin Gishu, said that it was a double tragedy to farmers since the pathetic state of roads had made it impossible for them to access markets for their produce.

A survey by the Nation indicated that some farmers are set to incur more losses since they have not even started shelling their maize produce.

The El Niño rains

“We are receiving an average of 15,000 bags of maize daily up from between 4,000 bags two months ago following bumper harvest of the crop planted during the El Niño rains,” said a senior official at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) in the region who requested not to be named.

The board offers Sh2,300 for a 90kg bag of maize, but farmers are reluctant to deliver the produce due to delays in payment.

“We intended to buy 1.5 million bags of maize from last season’s produce, but we might only achieve 800,000 bags,” said the official.

But the farmers woes have been complicated by the falling prices, with a 90kg bag going for Sh1,800. The cost was Sh2,400 two months ago.

“The prices are likely to fall further as more maize floods the market,” said Mr Kipkorir Menjo, a Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) director.

Grain farmers in Uasin Gishu harvested 4.3 million bags of maize last year from 85,697 hectares planted under the crop while Trans Nzoia District harvested 5.3 million bags of maize last year.

North Rift region produced an average of 10 million bags of maize last year against the country’s strategic reserve of 4 million bags.