Efforts in place to promote exports in North rift.

Key stakeholders in agriculture from north rift region are hatching plans to promote export farming to cushion farmers from troubled maize farming.

Noreb (CEO) Dominic Biwot recently met with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Export Promotion Council Mr Peter Biwott where they joined heads on strategies that would enable export strategy successful.

During the meeting, they floated partnership between North Rift Economic Bloc (NOREB) and Export Promotion Council (EPC) as key force in wooing farmers into encouraging farmers to diversify into farming crops for export.

The efforts also include commercializing agriculture through exploration of modern farming strategies.

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Noreb was also considered crucial especially in lobbying for improved infrastructure including expanding Eldoret International Airport runway to accommodate more planes when export trade takes shape.

” we have plans to promote export farming so as to encourage farmers to diversify into farming crops for export” said biwot.

The plan to promote diversification comes at the time that maize farmers are experiencing a myriad of challenges including low pricing, expensive farm inputs and a recent threat of maize imports that will edge them out of the cereal market.

Recently, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri and chairperson of the Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund Noah Wekesa contradicted themselves over shortage of maize.

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While Kiunjuri claimed there was shortage, the latter dismissed the alarm saying the shortage was artificial.

The fund is mandated with advising the state on food reserves in the country.

But the move by champions of export farming breathes hope into disgruntled farmers who have been dependent on maize.