Farmers should embrace warehouse receipt system to make farming lucrative, Trans Nzoia Deputy Governor Stanley Tarus has said.
Tarus said the government has opted for the system and that it will start receiving maize from farmers under better terms from December.
Addressing the press at Sirwo resort in Cherangany, Tarus said farmers who use the system will benefit from storage of their maize as they wait market for their produce which will be done by the warehouse receipt council.
He said the National Cereals and produce Board will provide the service, but other stakeholders will also be licensed after approval to offer the warehouse services.
Tarus said after farmers have taken maize to the warehouses, a farmer will be issued with a receipt which can be used as a security to access bank loans.
Warehouse receipt council chair Jane Ngige said her organization has made an agreement with six banks including cooperative, KCB, Abbsa and Equity.
Trans Nzoia is expecting to harvest 5.6 million bags of maize this season.
NCPB says its warehouses have a capacity to store 700,000 bags of maize in Trans Nzoia and 17 million bags countrywide.
The stakeholders who will also offer the service are private warehouses, farmers’ cooperative societies, among others.
The county governments will in conjunction with warehouse receipt council have been tasked to vet, approve and license other stakeholders who will engage in the service provision.
The government said that NCPB will not purchase maize this year but it will strengthen the warehouse receipt council to help in marketing the grains.
NCPB will offer storage at sh3 per month per bag for maize and dry maize at sh.20 of up to the temperature of 20 percent.
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