State urged to clear Sh1.3bn KFA debt

By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU ashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, August 17  2011 at  22:30

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Parliament has resolved that the government should clear a Sh1.3 billion debt Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) owes creditors.

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Mr Ababu Namwamba (Budalang’i, ODM) said if the 65,000-member association was revitalised, the country would achieve food security.

“Convinced that the immediate revival of KFA is a matter of strategic national importance, this House urges the government to immediately make available a grant of Sh1.3 billion to KFA to help clear the bad debts and enable it restructure and contribute to the rapid growth of the agricultural sector in line with Vision 2030,” said Mr Namwamba as he rallied MPs to support the motion.

He said farmers in the North Rift were being exploited by middlemen after the collapse of the association.

“If we can do it for the coffee sector, we can do it for the maize sector and for the sugar sector,” the Budalang’i representative said.

KFA, which has its head office in Nakuru, collapsed in the 1990s after failing to service loans advanced by the National Bank of Kenya and Barclays Bank.

The company used to source inputs in bulk and sell them to farmers at subsidised rates. This principally ensured a steady supply of seeds, equipment and fertiliser.

MPs who contributed to the motion unanimously supported it, saying it was one of the strategies for guaranteeing food security. 

Agriculture assistant minister Kareke Mbiuki and Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi backed the motion, saying it would help address the food deficit.

Ms Murugi said the National Cereals and Produce Board should be restructured to boost the Strategic Grain Reserves.

ODM nominated MP Musa Sirma seconded the motion and accused Attorney General Amos Wako of sabotaging efforts to revive the association.

He said Mr Wako demanded to know the owners of the association before endorsing plans to write off the debt.

“KFA is owned by peasant farmers. They wrote off debts for coffee because some people at the Treasury believe that this country belongs to the coffee farmers,” he said.

He said the AG did not raise questions when the government cleared debts for Uchumi and the Kenya Planters Cooperative Union.