Questions Raised as Traders in Kericho are found Selling Fake Maize

Questions Raised as Traders in Kericho are found Selling Fake Maize.

Questions Raised as Traders in Kericho are found Selling Fake Maize: Four traders in Kericho have been put under custody for selling fake maize seeds to unsuspecting farmers in Kericho county.

The crackdown was conducted in Chepseon, Litein , Kapsoit, Kapkatet trading centres, and Kericho town in an ongoing exercise conducted by officers from Kephis, the police and officers from Kericho county government.

Apparently, the traders were caught using red oxide to colour the seeds to lie to farmers that they are certified ones while selling fake and inferior seeds.

The seeds were being sold in the open market, they were not packaged and did not have a Kephis sticker as required

Speaking to the media, Acting Director of seeds certification and plant variety protection at Kephis revealed that the sale of fake seeds has negatively impacted the government’s efforts to raise crop production under the fertilizer subsidy program that was started one and a half years ago, to reduce food imports.

The crackdown on seeds traders and agrovets is being conducted in all 47 counties to ensure that farmers have access to clean certified seeds to increase production and cushion them against losses and stop the spread of pests and diseases.

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