Rice farmers in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme have urged the Government to fast-track payment of Sh210 million owed to them after they supplied 25,760 bags of rice to the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC).
The farmers, through the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Co-operative Society (MRGM), said the delayed payment was affecting their ability to pay school fees, purchase farm inputs and meet household expenses.
Speaking at the MRGM offices in Mwea, Chief Executive Officer Anthony Waweru said the Government’s intervention in the rice marketing crisis was welcome, but called for the payment process to be expedited.
Waweru said farmers had faced serious marketing challenges since January, prompting them to seek Government intervention. By the end of June, the Ministry of Agriculture, KNTC and MRGM had agreed that KNTC would purchase rice held by the society and facilitate payment to farmers.
“We agreed that within three weeks, by July 20, we would have delivered everything that was in the order, and that is what we did. We had to work day and night, and at times we were even processing on Sundays to deliver within the stipulated time,” Waweru said.
The society delivered the entire order comprising 25,760 bags of rice, each weighing 50 kilogrammes, valued at Sh210 million.
Waweru said payment was expected by July 31, but to date farmers are still waiting.
“Even after consulting KNTC and other Government institutions, we are only being given promises that we are going to be paid,” he said.
He said the delay had come at a difficult time for farmers, who needed money to pay school fees and finance crops already in the fields.
“This is the time when we need to pay our farmers. I have talked to the bank, but they are saying they are unable to clear the cheques. That is a challenge to our farmers, as well as servicing the crop that is already in the field,” he said.
Waweru appealed to the Government to provide KNTC with the necessary funds to enable the corporation to settle the outstanding payment.
MRGM Chairman Ndege Muriuki said the marketing crisis had left farmers struggling before the Government intervened.
He said farmers were now visiting the society’s offices daily seeking payment, while others were struggling to raise money for their children’s education and the next planting season.
“The farmers are having a hard time preparing for the next planting season. We are asking the Government to use everything it can to help us pay the farmers. We are having a hard time, just like the farmers,” he said.
Rice farmer Francis Ndung’u said he had visited the MRGM offices hoping to receive money but left empty-handed.
“I came to the office hoping to get some money for school fees, but I did not get any. We were told that the society had not received the money,” Ndung’u said.
He said the payment delay was making it difficult for farmers to purchase fertiliser and meet basic household needs.
“We do not even know how to buy fertiliser. We do not know how we are going to get food right now,” he said.
Ndung’u added that farmers also needed money to pay for essential services, including irrigation water managed by the National Irrigation Authority (NIA).
By Mutai Kipng’etich
