As many as 300 peasant farmers in Nakuru on Tuesday staged a three-day sit in at the National Cereals and Produce Board over what they termed as heightened favouritism by the board in the selling of subsidized assorted fertiliser from the national government.
The visibly irate farmers who have been camping at the board`s headquarters since Monday alleged that officials here have been selling fertiliser to wealthy merchants who buy the commodity in tonnes while none of them is attended to.
Speaking to the press at the board`s offices, John Karanja, a farmer said he has been shuttling between his farm in Njoro which is 20 kilometers from Nakuru and the board’s offices since Monday but has not received the fertiliser which he has already paid for.
Only 20 farmers are attended to per day and this is a cause for worry to these peasant farmers who are racing against short rains and the planting season and they express fear that they may plant late in the season and fail to harvest as anticipated.
"We need urgent government intervention. The programme meant to support peasant farmers has now been turned into an avenue of convenience for wealthy merchants and corrupt employees of the board," said Pauline Mburu, a farmer.
However, an official at the board speaking to the press on condition of anonymity attributed the problem to what he termed as a lengthy bureaucratic process which the board`s management.
The programme championed by the Ministry of Agriculture, sees peasant farmers access subsidized farm inputs in a bid to upscale food production in the country.
The ministry is availing the subsidised inputs at centrally placed NPCB depots country wide to increase access to certified seeds and assorted fertilizer.