Yatani disbands food reserve fund in ongoing reforms

Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ukur Yatani has formally disbanded the Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund (SFRTF) board in ongoing reforms in the agriculture sector to enhance food security.

The CS, in a Kenya Gazette notice dated June 17, 2020, revoked the appointment of all board members, a month after the agency was placed under the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) as a department.

“It is notified for the general information of the public that appointment of Dr Noah Wekesa as the chairperson of SFRTF lapsed on October 20, 2019,” the notice said.

Others whose appointments were revoked are Abbas Maalim Mohamed, Lucas Chepkitony, Susan Wairimu Mukiri and Gerald Musila.

SFRTF was established by the Public Finance Management Act in 2015. It was meant to provide the Strategic Food Reserve (SFR) with physical stock and buy maize, beans, rice, fish, powdered milk and canned beef.

SFR and NCPB have been involved in a protracted row over the purchase of maize and management of funds in the sector.

But cereal farmers and leaders from the country’s food basket region have claimed that absorbing SFR into NCPB is part of a plan to frustrate the agricultural sector, arguing that the two agencies were performing different roles.

“Anyone who wants to dissolve the SFR is after killing the agriculture sector and we are going to oppose the plans, this sector should not be frustrated,” said Patrick Kiprono, a farmer in Cheplaskei, Eldoret.

The farmers instead want SFR transformed into a State corporation, arguing that it has helped in setting attractive prices for their crops.

“As farmers, we stand to benefit a lot in terms of purchase and prompt payment of our produce, once SFR is turned into a State corporation,” said Mr David Too,a  commercial farmer in Uasin Gishu County.

The farmers cited improved maize prices this season, with a 90kg bag going for Sh3,200 due to a restructured market supply chain by SFR, as opposed to previous seasons when the prices would drop to as low as Sh800 per bag, caused by flooding of cheaply imported grains in the local market.

“The SFR has regulated unnecessary importation of grains and allowed the market forces of supply and demand to determine market prices. Dissolving it will expose farmers to exploitation by cartels who offer low prices,” said Mr Wilson Lagat, from Trans Nzoia County.

Dr Wekesa had earlier rejected the planned merger, arguing that the board had played its oversight role.

“The SFR was created by the Ministry of Finance and it will be inappropriate to merge it with NCPB since its mandate has been expanded to accommodate other foods,” he said.

“We are now handling other foodstuff such as milk, rice and we are planning to expand to green grams; so, how do you merge an entity with an expanded mandate with that one that handles grain?” he posed.

Agriculture CS Peter Munya had said the merger will resolve administrative and financial conflicts between the two State agencies and save money.

The government, he said, had been losing Sh2 billion annually in bureaucratic conflicts between the two agencies.

“There is no need of having SFR and NCPB doing the same work, leading to inefficiencies, and the merger will streamline their operations,” Mr Munya said in February during a meeting with farmers from the North Rift region.

He disclosed that SFR will operate as a department within the NCPB, setting the stage for fresh turf wars between the two agencies.

Conflict of interest between the two agencies has been blamed for the woes facing the cereals sector in terms of purchase, payment and supervision of cereals in the country.

“Unification of the two bodies will streamline their operations and weed out cartels, who take advantage of their confusions to exploit genuine farmers,” said Mr Kipkorir Menjo, Kenya Farmers Association director.