Ahero rice farmers told not to sell their produce to brokers

 The National Irrigation Board Manager in charge of the Western Kenya schemes Joel Tanui visiting a rice farm in Ahero Irrigation scheme recently-File Photo

By Dickson Odhiambo

February 29, 2020

Ahero rice farmers told not to sell their produce to brokers

RICE farmers at the Ahero Irrigation Scheme are urged not to sell their produce to middlemen and brokers.

The National Irrigation Board Manager in charge of the Western Kenya schemes Joel Tanui asks the rice farmers not to deal with fraudsters in the name of brokers while selling their rice.

Addressing the Ahero rice farmers during this year’s Annual General Meeting held at Ahero Irrigation Scheme, the Manager told the farmers to instead sell their product to Government rice millers.

He says the production status of the scheme for the year 2019 shows that rice farmers at the Ahero Irrigation scheme managed to harvest  more 25,000 metric tonnes of rice which can be sold locally.

“This has been a substantial produce which can be sold locally and we are really discouraging the farmers not to sell this to brokers who are out to exploit them,” Tanui says.

He says following the recent President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive that Government institutions buy rice from farmers, the farmers have a better chance of getting good prices for their produce hence should sell to the Government millers directly.

“The President recently directed that the government institutions should buy mill rice from farmers and this should be so,” he says.

He further says the Government has given shs 85 per kilograms for basmati rice, adding that currently they are paying the rice farmers shs 40 per kilogram for the sindano rice, adding that the prices will improve with time.

“The brokers have been buying rice here at the average of 45 or 34 shillings per kilogram. We therefore urge the farmers to bring their rice to Government millers where they will be paid within a period of three days,” Tanui further adds.

Tanui says there are plans to expand the area for rice production in the region from the 11,000 acres to 16,000 acres within the Kano rice belt.

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