Lead image for New maize board to license millers, control sector under proposed law.
Millers are set to have an independent, standalone maize board that will be tasked with registering millers, issuing and charging licence fees to operate a maize mill if the draft Maize Bill, 2026 is enacted.
The draft legislative proposal by Moiben MP Phylis Bartoo seeks to create an independent maize board that will help the government in the development and promotion of the maize sector.
The board, according to the proposal, shall also be mandated to license exporters and importers of maize or maize by-products.
“The board will be tasked with regulating and developing the maize sector, serving as an intermediary between stakeholders and the government while monitoring market trends,” reads the draft Bill.
The draft Bill, which is currently under scrutiny by the committee on agriculture, states that the board will also be responsible for managing data, facilitating imports, exports, enforcing standards through licensing, and promoting value addition.
Currently, the maize sector is governed by the Crops Act, 2013, Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) Act, 2013, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act, 2013 and the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) Act, 1985.
The draft Bill therefore seeks to amend the Crops Act, 2013 by deleting maize from the list of scheduled crops and the NCPB Act, 1985 by deleting the word maize in all its clauses.
The draft Bill also provides that all the property that was vested for the use of maize by NCPB shall become the property of the Maize Board of Kenya upon commencement of this Act.