The government is late in rolling out e-vouchers for subsidised fertiliser that farmers can buy from private suppliers and importers.
Farmers and MPs in the Rift Valley region have expressed fears of a fertiliser shortage and high prices, with just a month to the start of the planting season.
“Fertiliser is a key farm input and the government seems to have no clear plan to supply subsidised fertiliser to farmers, which will expose them to exploitation by private dealers," Mosop MP Vincent Tuwei said.
Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny and Moiben MP Silas Tiren have urged the new CS for Agriculture Peter Munya to swiftly deal with farmers concerns and ensure the vouchers are supplied well in advance of the planting period.
“He should clearly communicate to farmers quite early because they have to plan well n advance so we don't have high costs of farm inputs leading to reduced food production," Kuttuny said.
The E-vouchers system has been introduced to curb corruption and enable farmers to access quality fertiliser from the open market.
The National Cereals and Produce Board depots previously handled subsidised fertiliser but complaints of corruption in distribution forced the state to device a more efficient system.
Farmers accused NCPB staff and traders of colluding to divert and repackage the subsidised fertiliser, then selling it at market prices and denying producers a chance to benefit from the subsidies.
Registered farmers will get the e-vouchers from county agriculture offices and redeem them anywhere.
“This will enable farmers to easily access the commodity from dealers near them but the delay in rolling the e-vouchers is now a major concern," director of the Kenya Farmers Association Kipkorir Menjo said.
Farmers in high maize and wheat-producing counties like Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Nandi and Elgeyo Marakwet, among others, require mostly DAP fertiliser for planting and CAN for top dressing.
Except for the last one year, the government has been spending more than Sh4 billion annually to provide subsidized fertilizer through the NCPB. Last year farmers were forced to buy the fertiliser from private dealers after the government cancelled a plan to import, citing graft.
The problems farmers faced, including the high costs of farm inputs, led to a drop in maize production from 44 million bags to less than 34 million bags last year.
A maize shortage is feared in the middle of this year.
(Edited by V. Graham)
