Functions of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB)

The National Cereals and Produce Board Act establishes and defines the functions of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) in Kenya.

Composition of National Cereals and Produce Board

The members of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) are as follows–

a Chairman who shall be appointed by the President;
two persons who are maize growers appointed by Cabinet secretary (responsible for matters related to the Board);
one person who is a wheat grower appointed by the Cabinet Secretary;
two persons appointed by the Cabinet Secretary of whom one shall represent consumers’ interests and the other millers’ interests;
the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for the time being responsible for matters relating to the Board, or a person appointed by them in writing either generally or for a particular purpose or meeting;
the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for the time being responsible for agriculture, or a person appointed by them in writing either generally or for a particular purpose or meeting;
the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for the time being responsible for Finance, or a person appointed by them in writing either generally or for a particular purpose or meeting;
the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, or a person appointed by them in writing either generally or for a particular purpose or meeting;
a person nominated by the Kenya Grain Growers Co-operative Union Limited and appointed by the Cabinet Secretary;
the managing director of the Board.

The functions of the National Cereals and Produce Board shall be–

to regulate or to control the collection, movement, storage, sale, purchase, transportation, marketing, processing, distribution, importation, exportation, disposal and supply of maize, wheat and scheduled agricultural produce;
to buy, store, sell, import, export or otherwise acquire and dispose of maize, wheat and scheduled agricultural produce in such manner, such quantities and on such terms as it may, from time to time, deem necessary to fulfil the requirements of producers and consumers in Kenya;
to advise the Cabinet Secretary on the proper production of maize, wheat and scheduled agricultural produce in relation to the needs of Kenya, and the extent to which control over the exportation and importation of maize, wheat or scheduled agricultural produce is desirable or necessary;
to do any other act which is connected or incidental to the functions mentioned above.

In fulfilling its functions, the Board shall comply with any general or special directions which the Cabinet Secretary may give.

The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.

The Board shall have power–

to enter into contracts and arrangements which may, in the opinion of the Board, be necessary or expedient for the better carrying out of the objects of the National Cereals and Produce Board Act;
to establish and operate in the name of the Board any bank accounts it may deem necessary or convenient;
to invest and deal with any moneys of the Board not immediately required by the Board, in and upon such investments and securities as are allowed by law for the investment of trust funds or such other securities or investments as may be approved by the Treasury for the purposes of this paragraph;
to draw, make, accept, endorse, discount, execute and issue bills of exchange, promissory notes, bills of lading and other negotiable or transferable instruments or securities;
to set up reserve or equalisation funds in respect of maize, wheat or scheduled agricultural produce as may, for any year, have generated excess profits which in the opinion of the Board may be used to support subsequent falls in market prices;
to raise or borrow, with the approval of the Minister, such sums of money as it may require for the provision of working capital, the establishment or acquisition of property or undertakings required by the Board, or any other expenditure properly incurred by the Board for the purposes of the National Cereals and Produce Board Act.

For more about the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), see the National Cereals and Produce Board Act(External Link) and visit their website.