Nairobi — The Government intends to implement the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) Act of 2019 to remove cartels in the supply chain.

President William Ruto said this will remove brokers and middlemen in the agricultural sector who have been blamed for fleecing farmers or producers.

"We are also maximizing farmer returns from their produce by likewise removing brokers, middlemen, conmen and other intermediaries, as well as other perennial marketing challenges related with cereals and pulses," said President Ruto while addressing the country today.

WRS allows farmers to store their produce at selected warehouse facilities for cleaning, grading, and storage before being issued with a receipt as proof of ownerships.

"This system creates an ecosystem with opportunities for the private sector and NCPB to provide a trading platform that links buyers and sellers, and facilitates access to credit by agricultural producers," he added.

The above is part of the reforms President Ruto has implemented to streamline the agricultural sector, which the head of state says has for a long time been riddled with brokering.

Other reforms instituted by the president include scaling up fund allocation for the Agricultural Finance Corporation, proposing to retire subsidizing consumption in favor of subsidizing production, and scaling down fertilizer prices.