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{
    "id": 1549867,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1549867/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 146,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Konoin, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Brighton Yegon",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order 44(2)(c), Hon. Rebecca Tonkei requested for a statement on 26th February 2025, regarding alleged violation of the 2008 agreement between the Cereal Growers Association (CGA) and Cereal Millers Association (CMA) on wheat uptake. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development responded to the issues raised in the request as follows: 1. A report on the national wheat demand revealed the quantity of wheat harvested in the current season in the country, including Narok County, vis-à-vis CMA uptake. The national wheat demand is between 2.2 and 2.4 million metric tonnes. The annual wheat production in 2023 was 135,000 metric tonnes. From July 2024 to March 2025, approximately 153,932 metric tonnes were harvested. Millers had mopped up 124,989 metric tonnes from August 2024 to March 2025. The total wheat held by farmers and marketing agents was about 28,944 metric tonnes. Some farmers in upper Narok and Timau had not harvested their wheat. The projected amount of wheat to be harvested in those regions was about 800,000 bags, which translates to 7,200 metric tonnes. In the last eight months, the total amount of wheat imported was 1,407,129 metric tonnes, against the projected allocation of 3,246,000 metric tonnes. 2. On the steps the Ministry is taking to cause millers to adhere to the 2008 Agreement to purchase locally produced wheat in the current harvesting season before importing more wheat to bridge the deficit, the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development held meetings with stakeholders on 26th February 2025 and 3rd March 2025 to discuss and resolve issues of wheat uptake. During the meetings, the Cabinet Secretary directed farmers and aggregators to deliver their wheat stocks to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). Farmers will be paid by NCPB within 30 days after millers have paid for the wheat collected from the NCPB depots. To ensure adherence to and compliance with the 2008 Agreement, the Ministry, through the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), is monitoring compliance by all millers. Millers will be allocated quotas of local wheat to purchase before they are allowed to import wheat. This initiative will regulate volumes of imported wheat and ensure millers import during a period of deficit to avoid flooding local market with cheap imported wheat. 3. The third part of the request sought the measures in place to enforce the Agreement in future and to uphold its integrity and promote fair trade in the agriculture sector and to protect local wheat farmers from unfair market access due to unregulated wheat importation. Millers will be allocated quotas of local wheat to purchase based on the capacity of individual millers. Millers were directed to submit to the National Treasury and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on a weekly basis the quantities of wheat grain purchased from local farmers. The National Treasury will not approve importation of wheat by millers who shall not comply with the commitment to buy local wheat grain based on their capacity. CGA will provide regular data on the quantity and areas where wheat grains are available for purchase by millers. Farmers’ representatives, millers and the Ministry will hold annual meetings to agree on a minimum price per bag of wheat grain to avoid exploitation of farmers by millers. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}