KENYA – The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Control Union Certification & Inspections (CUC&I) Limited to collaborate on enhancing their operations.
CUC & Inspections Limited, formed in 1920 and headquartered in the Netherlands, specializes in International Certification and inspections of various agricultural products such as grains, oil seeds and their by-products, vegetable oils, sugar, fruits, vegetables and animal feeds additives.
The firm also carries inspection of farm inputs, biofuels and minerals.
While the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), is a state corporation whose mandate includes procuring and managing the Country’s Strategic Food Reserve (SFR) stocks and distributing GoK-subsidized Fertiliser and Relief Food and trading commercially in various grain and related products and services.
The collaboration involves open exchange of resources, personnel, information, documents, knowledge and views between the two organizations, reports Kenya News Agency.
NCPB Managing Director (MD) Mr. Joseph Kimote said that the two organizations will leverage on their combined competencies and respective expertise within their different ecosystems to offer quality services and value to their mutual customers.
“Such a partnership with a strategic organization will be implemented within our agricultural hub centers which we are opening across the country.
“The hub centres are aimed at providing our farmers and other customers with all the services and products they need under one roof,” said Kimote.
He explained that the MoU defines areas of cooperation in the provision of services including storage either through leasing or warehousing, advisory on post-harvest management services, drying, fumigation and pest control, inspection services and aflatoxin testing, grain grading, cleaning, bagging and conveyancing, weighing services and aggregation of various commodities.
CUC&I Managing Director Mr. James Mureithi said that they are pleased to have NCPB as a partner in the activities outlined in the MOU adding that through this public-private sector partnership the two organizations will mutually benefit in meeting their market obligations on consumer satisfaction.
“This partnership comes at a time when we are needed to provide timely and cost-effective solutions in food handling, storage, distribution, quality analysis and compliance with both statutory and market requirements to our esteem clients.
“Control Union Kenya commits to fully support and actively engage with NCPB in service delivery in the fulfilment of our MOU,” said Mureithi.
NCPB has been forging partnerships with other organizations to streamline its operations and beef up its services.
Recently, the produce board signed an MoU with Safaricom’s DigiFarm Kenya to facilitate small-scale farmers in Kenya access post-harvest management services through the digital platform.
NCPB shall offer post-harvest management services to farmers present on the platform, while DigiFarm will connect NCPB to small-scale farmers, who will, in turn, access NCPB services at prevailing rates.
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