Unearthing the Truth Behind the Government’s Sh2,500 Fertiliser Supposedly Part of Donation from Russia
The government has initiated the procedure of transforming 34,000 tonnes of fertilizer sourced from Russia into a final product of 100,000 tonnes, which will be prepared for direct utilization by farmers.
The Russian company Uralchem-Uralkali Group has contributed the fertilizer, which will be included in the discounted resources available for purchase at a price of Ksh 2,500 for a 50kg sack, reduced from the previous price of Ksh 3,500.
The shipment, which arrived at the Mombasa port earlier this week, has been specially modified by the Ministry of Agriculture to create fertilizer tailored for specific types of soil and crops.
“The process commenced this Tuesday, where 34,000 bags of the farm input was supplied to farmers,” A senior official in the Ministry of Agriculture to GossipA2Z.Com
Attempts to contact Kello Harsama, the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, for a statement were unsuccessful, as he did not reply to phone calls and text messages.
As per the June release from the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers in regions where maize, potatoes, coffee, horticulture, and sugar cane are cultivated during the long rainy season utilized around 1.72 million bags of planting fertilizer and 1.3 million bags of top dressing fertilizer.
The report also mentioned that the subsidized fertilizer, priced at Sh3,500 for a 50-kilogram bag, primarily benefits farmers residing in the Rift Valley regions known for maize cultivation.
ALSO READ: Russian Fertilizer to Kenya Raises Questions
Farmers in Uasin Gishu reclaimed 401,874 bags of fertilizer, which were worth around 1.4 billion Kenyan Shillings. In Trans Nzoia, they obtained 240,265 bags of fertilizer with a value of approximately 861 million Shillings.
Nakuru’s farmers managed to secure 213,218 bags, valued at about 746.8 million Shillings. Additionally, in Nandi and Nakuru counties, farmers bought 109,218 and 108,323 bags of fertilizer respectively, totaling an estimated 382.2 million and 379.4 million Shillings.
The nation needs approximately 650,000 tons of fertilizer each year, and the government has implemented a variety of strategies to ensure that farmers can access these resources at reasonable prices.
President William Ruto has revealed his plans to decrease the cost of subsidized fertilizer, bringing the price down from Sh3,500 to Sh2,500 for every 50 kg sack during the upcoming short rainy season. The aim is to provide 2 million bags of this reduced-cost fertilizer.
“Today, I am proud to announce the commencement of the second phase of our program. On this leg, we shall begin by immediately bringing down the price of fertilizer… from Sh3,500 to Sh2,500 per 50 kg bag. At this price, we expect a significantly higher uptake of fertilizer,” said Dr Ruto.
“Since fertilizer is the game-changer of agricultural productivity, this should translate to higher production in the next planting season. I encourage fat mers to embrace better and greater use of fertilizer to increase yields in the coming seasons,” said the head of State on Wednesday at State House when he launched the program.
ALSO READ: Behind Closed Doors: Magnates Securing Exclusive Deals in the Rice and Cooking Oil Industry
He reported that 3,536,162 sets of crop-specific fertilizers and region-targeted fertilizers were provided to farmers across 41 counties. This distribution followed the issuance of 3,628,512 e-vouchers to a total of 5 million farmers who were registered.
“We are providing farmers with fertilizer whose formulation is customized to feed crops with their specific requirement of elements and address local soil nutrient composition. It is also the first time that fertilizer has been directly delivered to farmers based on land acreage and crop production capacity,” added Dr Ruto.
He highlighted that the allocation of subsidized fertilizer is anticipated to raise maize output from 32 million bags to 44 million bags this current season, aiming for an annual goal of 61 million bags in the upcoming five years.
Unearthing the Truth Behind the Government’s Sh2,500 Fertiliser Supposedly Part of Donation from Russia
