1. I am into any business related to farming. So the other time I wanted to go farm maize in Rift Valley for commercial purposes, some senior Ministry of Agriculture officer told me that the best thing to do is wait for people to farm then buy the produce from the farms. #Thread
2. I became curious in understanding the mess in the sector and how our farmers could be helped. So I was told how the serious fraudulent scheme works.
3. Ministry of Agriculture personnel and people they are close to have understood that its not economically viable to plough, harrow, plant, weed while hoping that the weather is good that season. It's based on pure luck.
4. So most of the well connected officials have devised a scheme where they wait for the harvesting season then pounce on the desperate farmers, buying their produce for as low as Ksh 1,600 per bag.
5. Knowing their way through the Ministry and regulations around NCPB ready produce, the schemers buy the maize at the farms, transports them to good storage locations, where they are dried and then stored on Ministry of Agriculture recommended standards.
6. The condition and methods of storage makes it almost impossible for the maize produce to be infected while stored maize also doesn't require any treatment for it to stay good for consumption for so long.
7. The maize is later sold to NCPB at almost Ksh 3,500 and only in few occasions for below Ksh 3,000.
8. Now you hear CS Agriculture Mwangi Kiunjui claim that the maize is rotten or is rotting and will be sold to millers for Ksh 1,600. How did the maize come to rot? Why is it rotting? Who in this country should be consuming rotting or rotten maize?
9. This produce will be sold to the same cartel for Ksh 1,600 or below per bag then later resold to NCPB for not less than Ksh 3,500 per bag.
