Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago has come up with a suggestion he says will help put to an end perennial challenges maize farmers have been farmers.
Mandago says the government should consider buying green maize from farmers so as to produce silage for livestock feed.
This is even as the Jubilee governor revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture had issued a tender to construct 50 feedlots in semi-arid areas which will be used in the fattening of livestock meat for meat farming.
Speaking in Eldoret, Mandago said buying green maize from the farms will help address the issue of cartels who have taken over the maize market where they import cheap maize and sell to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) at a higher price at the expense of genuine farmers.
“It is not a must for us to eat maize as ugali, we can eat maize as milk through turning it to silage. This issues of farmers not being paid and cartels will be a thing of the past if we embrace this idea,” said Mandago.
The governor further said he will move around the county sensitizing farmers on diversification and value addition to enable them to get maximum profit.
Currently, a majority of farmers in Uasin Gishu depend on maize and wheat farming as a major source of income.
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