NAIROBI Kenya, Mar 4- The Ministry of Agriculture has announced that the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) will begin collecting 321,000 bags of wheat from farmers to address the ongoing wheat crisis in the country.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, directed that NCPB will make payments to farmers within 30 days after delivery to the warehouses across the country.

The Cabinet Secretary also issued a stern warning to those attempting to hijack the resolution by delivering imported wheat to the NCPB, stating that they would be arrested for sabotaging the process.

“In a memorandum of understanding to be signed between the NCPB and the Millers, the wheat from the NCPB will be collected by millers and payments done within 14 to 21 days,” read the statement.

Kagwe further expressed his intention to reduce wheat imports by ensuring local farmers increase their production from the current 8% to above 40% of the demand from millers.

The move is a welcomed relief for farmers, particularly those in Narok, who have recently been lamenting the inability to sell their wheat following a bumper harvest this year.

The farmers claim that since they started their harvest in August last year, they have not succeeded in selling their wheat.
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This led to wheat farmers in Narok County taking to the streets to protest and express their frustration over the lack of a market for their crop.

The Ministry had announced measures to resolve the impasse between wheat farmers where the latter will receive Sh5,300 per bag for Grade 1 wheat and Sh5,200 for Grade 2 wheat.