A farmer harvesting green grams (ndengu) in Ngondini Village, Kitui County.
Large-scale trading in green grams (ndengu) without a licence will soon be an offence attracting a fine of up to Sh1 million or two years in jail, or both, should a new Bill in Parliament be passed into law.
The development comes at a time MPs are pushing for the regulation of the mung bean sector in the country.
The Mung Beans Bill, 2022, currently before the Senate for consideration, sets tough conditions for licensing of marketers, processors and large scale traders of the beans.
The Bill states that a person shall not market, process or carry out large-scale trading in mung beans or mung-bean products unless they obtain a licence from the relevant county government.
“A person who contravenes the provisions commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both,” states the Bill in part.
For effective implementation of the provision, relevant county ministers will be expected to establish a county licensing committee.
Subsequently, a person who intends to market, process or carry out large-scale trading in mung beans or mung-bean products shall make an application for a licence to the committee.
The committee will then notify the applicant of their decision within 21 days.
The bill goes ahead to state that a county government may enact county legislation, setting out the criteria for the issuance of a licence within the respective county, and information required to be submitted by an applicant for a licence.
This is in addition to the process of determination of an application for a licence and its renewal, which will be annually.
“A county licensing committee may cancel a licence issued under this Act where the holder of such a licence is in breach of the provisions of this Act or any other relevant national or county legislation,” states the Bill.
The Bill by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua underwent First Reading on February 15, 2023 before going through subsequent legislative processes and was passed in February 2024, with amendments, and referred to the National Assembly for concurrence.
Maintain register
A county minister will be expected to keep and maintain a register of all licenses issued as well as provide the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) with information on all growers registered and licences issued, cancelled or renewed on the fifth day of every month.
The authority shall keep and maintain a register of all growers, buyers and other entities registered or licensed
“A person who commits an offence under this Act for which no penalty is provided is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding Sh500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.”
The Bill further gives the relevant Cabinet secretary the powers to come up with regulations to provide for the regulation of the processing, importation and exportation of mung bean and mung-bean products.
This is in addition to the forms to be used in the application for registration, licensing, contracts and related activities, and any fee which may be charged.
The Bill also provides that every grower shall register with the relevant county minister who will be required to maintain a register of all the growers registered with them.
The registration will capture details— including the name of the grower, the location, size and parcel number of the land on which the mung bean is grown and the variety of mung bean grown.
Download and read a copy of the Mung Bean Bill
