Economy Sh3,200 a bag too low, maize farmers protestArmon Kipng’etich (right) and his brother Thomas Limo stack their maize crop for drying before it is harvested, at their farm in Kiplombe, Uasin Gishu County on October 12, 2017. The farmers said the Sh3,200 offered for each 90kg of maize, above the Sh3,000 offered last season, was not enough to cater for the cost of production and still earn profit. They said they had used lots of money to fight armyworms that attacked their maize farms early this year. The farmers argued that the invasion of the armyworms led to increased cost of production and low yields this season, subjecting them to heavy losses. On Thursday, Mr Bett defended the Sh3,200 price, basing it on evaluation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Tegemeo Institute, which estimated production of 90kg of maize at Sh2,250 per bag.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 12, 2017 14:03 UTC