Laikipia County Maize Value Chain Platform
The agriculture sector development support program (ASDSP) under the Department of Agriculture, livestock, and fisheries have been training and helping to build a value chain platform for Laikipia farmers.
In a meeting held on 13th May at Nyaki Hotel in Nyahururu. There were stakeholders drawn from the maize value chain which included aggregators, suppliers, and farmers. Some of them included,
Ngarua Cereals, which buys and sells maize produce, fertilizer, and other farm inputs has a capacity to handle 15,000 bags and is inviting registration of new members.
Ndurumo Cooperatives, with a current membership of 31 active members has 443 bags of maize and is open to the membership.
Kilimo self-help group, which has 28 members had demo plots with produced 40 bags per acre that was record-breaking also provide table banking and other services like tents provision and public address.
Karadi Farmers cooperatives, which was registered in 2016, has 23 active members, provides table banking and farm inputs
Kangumo youth farmers, which has a membership of 15 youth members, is a self-help group that provides table banking and farm inputs.
Ziduka cooperatives which changed from a CBO in 2017 provide aggregation and farm inputs
Karaba cooperative provide aggregation and farm inputs and was registered in 2015
Sawanga FM, a community radio based at Kinamba, has a reach of close to 400,000 reach and listeners across all demographics aim to reach and communicate the agendas to foster more participation from your youth who has been left out from the value chain equation.
Laikipia Afya Limited which was incorporated with 3 current shareholders aims at providing value addition of Laikipia produced maize and creation of employment. The company has received KEBS certification for its milled flour now available in stores and supermarkets.
Farming as an economic activity provides Various activities to provide employment in the value chain which includes the provision of farm inputs, mechanization including machine provision for spraying, tilling of land, and cultivation. After harvesting, there is a need for transport to a storage facility in readiness for value addition. This includes drying, grinding, packaging ready for milling. Millers provide fortification of maize flour of several grades and animal feeds.
All the above economic activity in the value-added in the chain provides the much-needed employment for the local population that guarantees better livelihood of the population.
Service providers which include Soil testing, financial services, insurance, KEBS, and communications are key stakeholders that contribute to the value chain and provide additional services that contribute to the value and quality of the maize.
Laikipia aims to be the first county in the country to deploy the warehouse receipt system. The warehouse council which was appointed by the president will be a key player in the implementation after the acts and regulations in the running have been put in place. The KCIC and European Union which are the main funding partner toward the establishment of the warehouses will also be championed by Laikipia ASDSP to oversee the implementation.
The platform aims at tokenization of maize through the provision of a blockchain-based receipt system where farmers will receive electronic receipts (Token) of the maize delivered to aggregators or warehouses. The farmers will have options to redeem the Receipts (tokens) issued or trade them at an exchange platform. The system will provide liquidity for trading and speculation for traders, millers, and other stakeholders in the value chain.
The county financial support program like economic stimulus and the cooperative revolving fund aims to help the farmers and aggregators in operations and reviving the value chain organization to build more capacity and increase productivity.
The need to include more youths in the demographic of participants in the value chain was emphasized. As a huge percentage of the population more communication that touches on their need and participation. The warehouse receipting system will aim to utilize the most recent technology that will enable their participation and contribution across the value chain.
Two4one Ltd, which works with government, business, and other organizations, will endeavor to help in the digitization of the maize value chain with other value chain organizations to foster the delivery and operation of the warehouse receipting system. With submission to the Capital Markets for the full operations for the creation, management, and distribution of regulated digital assets under a project name KENDEX (Kenya Digital Asset Exchange).
Two4one Ltd aims to work with Laikipia County Development Authority (LCDA), Kenyatta University through Chandaria Business innovation center, Laikipia Innovation Program, innovation community Hub, and other banking institutions for custodial services including other partners. The company hopes to operationalize a market for other SMEs to participate in the capital markets and value chain.
To find out more on the Kendex platform, check us out on www.kendex.co.ke or read more about this initiative on the Two4one website. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to follow more on this project
