Government releases subsidised fertiliser worth Sh231.1million
Workers offload bags of fertiliser at the National Cereals and Produce Board depot in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County. The government has provided two 50kg bags of subsidized fertiliser per acre for all registered farmers.
At least 836,836 e-vouchers amounting to Sh231.1million have been issued to maize farmers in 10 counties across the country as at Friday under the subsidized fertiliser programme.
According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and the office of the State House Spokesperson, the number of maize farmers who have redeemed their vouchers is 4,949 which translates to 63,270 bags of fertiliser.
The uptake of the input is slowly picking up as the programme has 1.08million maize farmers registered on the platform set up to address food insecurity in the country.
It's estimated that Kenya needs to import 700,000 tonnes of maize for 2022/23.
The country's production is about 30 million bags of maize annually against an annual consumption of approximately 45 million bags.
Kenya's maize production is expected to be marginally higher, but not high enough to meet the country's needs. The country is one of the major maize-importing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Ministry of Agriculture has registered about 4.2million farmers nationally for all crops to access 6 million 50kg-bags of fertilizer for planting and an additional 4 million bags for top dressing.
“The government initiative is intended to make fertilizer more accessible and affordable,” said a statement from the ministry.
Under the programme, a farmer can purchase a 50kg bag of fertilizer for a maximum of Sh3,500.
The move by the government comes at a time when President William Ruto’s administration is battling high food prices.
“The fertilizer subsidy programme will eventually lead to a reduction in the price of food and enhance our national food security,” said the statement.
The registration of new farmers is still ongoing ahead of the planting season next month.
“Registration is going on in assistant chief’s offices countrywide and will continue until the start of the long rains. Registration is meant to improve transparency, accountability and traceability.”
The current registration targets farmers in 12 counties and its goal is to increase the national maize yield in the next harvest.
The critical planting input is available in the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots and Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) stores countrywide.
The government has provided two 50kg bags of subsidized fertiliser per acre for registered farmers.
