Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi has opened a new aflatoxin testing laboratory at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot in North Imenti, Meru.
CS Linturi said the new facility at the grains store was aimed at ensuring that the food people consume is free of aflatoxin, to stem chances of cancer.
It is the first time such a facility was commissioned in Meru, a region Linturi said had a high prevalence of cancer.
Linturi who was flanked by Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) Chairman Joseph Eruaki and Meru Assembly Speaker Ayub Bundi, said the laboratory was a very important facility to ensure the food was free of aflatoxin contamination.
"The aflatoxin testing laboratory is a facility which we use to test the levels of aflatoxin in our cereals. Meru leads this country in cases of cancer. Scientific research has shown that there is some connection between cancer and consumption of contaminated food that has toxins like aflatoxin," Linturi said.
The minister said that the Government was committed to ensuring that Kenyans can get safe food, as farmers usually sell and store their harvests at the NCPB depots across the country.
"As a government, we want to ensure that Kenyans are able to get safe food. We want to ensure that anybody who gets maize for milling must be within the required moisture levels," Linturi said.
He said the government's ambitious target to achieve food security had been a great success as farmers increased yields drastically, hence the government's aim to provide proper testing and storage for food safety and food security.
He said for the last year Kenya's farmers were able to produce 61 million bags of maize which must be properly stored after testing.
"We are now at another phase, because we want to produce 80 million bags this year because we want to exceed our national consumption average of maize. As we continually distribute fertiliser in the North Rift and South Rift we at the same time are able to support our farmers who are harvesting so that the crop they are harvesting now is properly dried to the right moisture levels," said the minister.
He said after the drying the cereals will be stored in the right manner.
"We are telling the people in Meru and the region that there are driers so that their maize and beans are free of contamination. Once it has been dried to the right moisture content, the aflatoxin testing laboratory is meant to test, so that the food stored is within the right parameters," he said.
He said the NCPB stores were certified warehouses, eliminating the burden of storage for farmers.
"Once it is dried you really don't have to carry it back to your home, because within that time (storage at home) you could have it contaminated. We have enough storage space, and you are sure the food is stored in the right environment devoid of any contamination," he said.
The CS said the cost of drying a 90 kg bag of maize was Sh150, but it had been reduced to Sh70 to incentivise the farmers.
"We only charge Sh10 for storage which is used to run the depot. The minimal fee is just to keep the institution running because we cannot operate without power or fumigation".
Linturi and Tigania West MP John Mutunga also launched the construction of another cereals store at Kianjai to serve farmers in the northern parts.
Mr Mutunga said they expected it to be completed in months, to give ease the storage burden for farmers in the area.
