Uhuru to open Sh103bn fertiliser plant

All is set for President Uhuru Kenyatta to preside over the commissioning of a multibillion-shilling fertiliser factory in Eldoret this week.

The President will open Toyota Tsusho fertiliser factory as he embarks on his tour of the North Rift.

The Sh103 billion fertiliser plant, the first of its kind in Africa, will manufacture 150,000 tonnes of subsidised fertiliser annually.

In a press release on Saturday, Toyota Tsusho Fertiliser Africa Ltd CEO Akira Wada said the factory will start operating immediately after the commissioning on Thursday.

“Africa’s new factory is expected to provide balanced soil and crop-specific fertilisers to the Kenyan market,” said Mr Wada.

“This will boost yield significantly and subsequently lower the cost of production.”

According to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett, the factory is expected to save the country Sh6 billion annually in foreign exchange spent on imported fertiliser, which will help farmers to lower the cost of production and attain food security.

“Fertiliser is a major component that the government identified to reduce cost of production and ensure productivity goes up,” Mr Bett told the Nation when he toured the facility located at Ngeria recently.

“The manufacture will be throughout the year.” Agriculture requires 650,000 tonnes of fertiliser yearly, he said.

“In the past, farmers used to be given uniform fertiliser, which affects yields,” the CS added. “From this factory, we will blend the input and micro-nutrients will be added.”

Mr James Rogony, a farmer from Ziwa, said: “Cartels have been creating a shortage of this input then selling it at inflated prices, but this is likely to reduce cost of fertiliser.”