Renowned economist David Ndii on Monday offered a proposal to reform the troubled National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB).
With the parastatal facing several corruption scandals that have seen farmers pay the price, Ndii proposed to reform how the organization operates.
He took to social media to state that NCPB should be transformed to primarily own and operate infrastructure for private traders or collateral managers.
"I think a maize trading company would help farmers more than vertical integration...
"But I would rather NCPB becomes an infrastructure owner/operator for private traders/collateral managers, otherwise the owners might turn up and find maize is nowhere to be found, or rotten," he explained.
Ndii was engaging investment banker Jimnah Mbaru who had proposed to have NCPB converted into a warehouse corporation for farmers to store their grain.
"I proposed in 2009 that we convert NCPB into a warehouse corporation where maize farmers can store their grains.NCPB to issue warehouse receipts.
"Then create a commodities exchange where these warehouse receipts can be traded in the secondary market. Problem solved," he tweeted.
Ndii argued that a primary market for farmers' maize needed to be created first, followed by the commodities exchange.
Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri has been in the eye of the storm in recent weeks over graft at NCPB that saw connected cartels and traders supply massive quantities of cheap, imported maize.
