Maize farmers to grapple with high production costs

Grain growers will next year have to grapple with skyrocketing production costs due to unsteady markets.

Fertiliser prices have risen, with a 50kg bag going for Sh4,500, up from Sh3,500, while 25 kilos of maize seed cost Sh4,700.

Many farmers have also expressed uncertainty over their future in maize production after the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) announced a buying price of Sh1,305 for a 50kg bag despite the growing costs.

“A farmer will have to sell four bags to raise Sh5,220 to buy one bag of fertiliser, which is not enough to plant one acre,” said Mr Moses Kosgei from Moiben, Uasin Gishu County.

He said an acre of land requires at least two and half bags of fertiliser, meaning the farmer will sell 12 bags of maize to buy a sufficient quantity.

Similarly, the farmer will have to sell four bags of maize at Sh1,305 to buy 25 kilos of maize seed, enough to plant two-and-half acres.

“It is becoming increasingly becoming difficult to break the vicious cycle of high production cost against declining market prices, signalling a tough economic season for maize farmers,” said Mr Eliud Kibet from Kerita farm in Kesses division, Uasin Gishu.

The country requires about 650,000 tonnes of fertiliser annually but some farmers have to plant without it due to the cost.

According to reforms announced by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya early this year, the government will source the fertiliser at Sh2,300 up from Sh1,800 from manufacturers, to be sold to farmers through NCPB and Kenya National Traders Corporation (KNTC) as opposed to farmers buying from retailers.

Major setback to farmers

“The farmers will from next season buy the fertiliser at Sh2,300 from NCPB and KNTC using the e-voucher system to cushion them from high production costs,” said Mr Munya early this year during a meeting with cereals farmers in Eldoret.

He explained that the vouchers would be issued through registered cooperatives to enable small-scale farmers benefit from the scheme. But many farmers are yet to benefit as the government shifts towards liberalising the cereals sector.

The high fuel prices have also been a major setback to farmers, adding to the already high cost of land preparation and crop management.

“Diesel is the strength of our crop production and the government needs to regulate the prices... to make agriculture a profitable venture,” said Mr Geoffrey Kemboi from Trans Nzoia County. It costs farmers about Sh4,500 to plough an acre of land.

With the production of a 90-kilogram bag of maize estimated to be Sh1,700, this makes it the highest in the East Africa region.

Mzee Kipruto Kirwa from Natwana village, Uasin Gishu County normally cultivates 30 acres of maize, producing 800 bags. But he has scaled down the acreage to 20 acres this year.

He pumped in Sh6,000 per acre to plough and harrow the farm, an additional Sh1,500 per acre to plant and Sh4,500 for a 25kg bag of maize seed for every two acres, in addition to labour costs.

“The government needs to subsidise the production costs for such staples as maize and wheat to enable farmers sustain production, otherwise, natural calamities like drought or floods coupled with skyrocketing costs of farm inputs will discourage them from investing,” said Mzee Kirwa.

A study by the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) indicates that farmers in Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties lose an average of 10 bags of maize per harvest due to declining soil fertility caused by continuous application of common fertilisers.

High cost of production

It costs farmers between Sh1,500 and Sh2,000 to sample and determine acidity levels of their soil.

The government slashed the budget allocation to the agriculture sector in the 2019/2020 financial year to Sh59.1 billion, allocated Sh60 billion in 2021/2022 before withdrawing funding for the strategic grains reserve and fertiliser subsidy.

“It costs me Sh1,800 per acre for top dressing, additional Sh10,000 for herbicide and pest control,” added Mzee Kirwa.

He asked the government to re-introduce guaranteed minimum returns scheme to cushion farmers from losses. The scheme was phased out years ago after the agriculture sector was liberalised.

Cereals farmers have petitioned the National Assembly to increase budgetary allocation to the Agriculture ministry to help resolve financial problems facing the sector.

The growers said that 10 per cent of the national budget should be set aside for agriculture, in line with the Maputo Declaration to lower the high cost of production.

“What needs to be done is to remove tax on farm implements and increase the budget to the sector. We can only lower the cost of production when MPs introduce these reforms,” said Mr Kipkorir Menjo, a Kenya Farmers Association director.

Experts warn that poor planning by the government to adequately address challenges facing the agricultural sector, coupled with natural calamities like drought, could plunge the country into a food crisis.

“The government needs to put in place proper policies on how to address food security instead of taking the matter lightly, resulting in importation that exposes farmers to unnecessary competition,” warned Mr Isaac Towett, an agricultural economist.

Tegemeo Institute, an agricultural research firm has likewise expressed warned of an impending food crisis.

The NCPB is undertaking a raft of reforms meant to advance its role in the purchase and management of cereals in the liberalized economy. In the radical shift, the NCPB is now buying the cereals on a commercial basis.

“For a long period, the board acted as market stabiliser for cereals by setting attractive prices...but the trend has since changed and it is now competing with other players,” said Mr Joseph Kimote, the NCPB managing director.