At least 30 individuals have been arrested in the last month in connection with the sale of counterfeit seeds, Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Ronoh has revealed.
Ronoh noted the suspects were nabbed in various parts of the country in a crackdown launched by the Ministry in collaboration with security officers.
He regretted that for a long time, farmers have continued to reap low yields, something he attributed to uncertified seeds being sold to them by unscrupulous, unsuspecting dealers.
“Some of them fled to the neighbouring countries, but we managed to pursue and arrest them,” he stated.
He also challenged the national government administration officers to stay alert to prevent the resurgence of such unscrupulous dealers peddling fake seeds.
The PS made the remarks Wednesday at Kipkelion West in Kericho during the annual Pyrethrum Farmers’ Harvest celebrations.
The event was organised by the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya in partnership with Kentagra Processing Company.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi was also present during the event.
Earlier on, the duo flagged off the distribution of subsidised fertiliser at the Kedowa NCPB depot.
According to the PS, the interventions put in place by the government will ensure farmers reap maximum yields from their produce.
He urged the county governments to identify satellite stores to enhance accessibility by farmers.
About four million farmers in the 14 value chains across the country are to receive the fertiliser being sold at Sh2,500 for the short rains.
For the long rains, he said, government plans to procure close to 7.5 million bags.
CS Linturi said the government has captured data for 6.4 million farmers, which he noted has greatly helped in planning for the future of agriculture through science and technology.
In a bid to address post-harvest losses from grain harvests, Linturi announced that they have made available mobile grain dryers for sufficient drying before storage.
This, as he urged farmers to utilise the NCPB depots in the regions to store their grains.
“There is no reason why we should lose our food because it has been stored in poor conditions…NCPB has been certified as storage facilities for the food, cereals and so the farmers who do not have good storage facilities should know we have public facilities where they can store it,” he stated.
