• Rift Valley farmers require more than six million bags of planting fertiliser and another three million bags for top dressing every year.
•Maize and wheat production have been declining for four years, mainly due to us of substandard fertiliser and bad weather.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Access to affordable and quality fertiliser and other inputs has been a perennial problem for farmers toiling to feed the country.
Farmers and politicians recently told off the government for its decision to stop the supply of subsidised fertiliser, meaning farmers buy on the open market. They say the price is still too high.
The Rift Valley, commonly called the country's breadbasket, leads in the production of maize and other cash crops. Over the years, farmers have relied on the government to provide subsidised fertiliser which is cheaper.
Failure or delays in getting fertiliser always causes loud cries from the farming community, attracting attention from political leaders and the government.
The Ministry of Agriculture has over the years been supplying subsidised fertiliser and other farm inputs through the National Cereals and Produce Board.
But three years ago, powerful cartels interfered with the process, frustrating access by farmers to the commodity and even diverting it for sale in the open market, thus defeating the purpose of subsidies.
NCPB ran into trouble as cartels seized almost all its operations and early this year, the government was forced to suspend the subsidised fertiliser programme. It also dissolved the Strategic Food Reserve in restructuring measures aimed at revamping and streamlining the agriculture sector.
“The NCPB had been completely overrun and could not manage the fertiliser subsidies programme to benefit the farmers as envisioned, so government intervention was needed," Kenya Farmers Association director Kipkorir Menjo says.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya early this year announced the changes concerning the sourcing of fertiliser, its quality, cost and access.
“We have made the decisions in the interest of farmers so they can access quality fertiliser at affordable prices and in a timely manner," Munya said.
Consequently, this year the government allowed fertiliser manufacturers to directly bring it into the country and sell directly to farmers for not more than Sh2,300 per 50kg bag of DAP, which is used for planting. The market price is about Sh3,000 per bag.
“We have talked to manufacturers of fertiliser and decided the government will not procure subsidised fertiliser this planting season to shield our farmers from exploitative cartels," Munya said.
This year, farmers have purchased fertiliser directly from agents of the main manufacturers without the involvement of middlemen or cartels.
“The decision by the government to directly deal with manufacturers has at least ensured timely supply of quality fertiliser because, during the subsidies programme, the cartels went to the extent of adulterating the product," Moiben MP Silas Tiren said.
He said the price of Sh2,300 per DAP bag was fair but farmers would have benefited more from subsidies to further reduce the price to less than Sh1,600 per bag.
Some Rift Valley political leaders have once again protested the end to fertiliser subsidies, arguing the decision was taken because of political interests and without consultations.
Senators Kipchumba Murkomen and Samson Cherargei took the matter to the floor of the Senate where they accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of stopping subsidies to punish farmers from Rift Valley, which is DP William Ruto's backyard.
“The government has also said the NCPB will no longer buy maize from farmers and we view this decision as meant to target farmers from Rift Valley where the DP enjoys wide support," Cherargei said.
Under the subsidy programme that cost the government more than Sh8 billion annually, fertiliser for planting was going for Sh1,800. CAN, usually for top dressing, was being sold for Sh1,500 a bag.
Farmers currently are weeding their maize farms and require top dressing.
Murkomen said the withdrawal of subsidies means the cost of farming will be higher and farmers will earn less because of unwise policy and political decisions by President Kenyatta’s administration.
But Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny defended the President. He accused some political leaders, whom he did not name, of being part of the same cartels involved in messing up the subsidies programme. He said they also were importing cheap maize to frustrate farmers.
“It's President Kenyatta who recently stopped maize imports, causing farmers for the first time to control maize prices that have been fairly good and more stable this year than before," Kutuny said.
A leading maize producer in Uasin Gishu, Thomas Korogoren, said it's time the government streamlined operations of the NCPB and the fertiliser subsidies programme so they can continue to access quality and cheaper fertiliser.
“Farmers are not interested in politics. What we need are clear policies for the agriculture sector so we do not have to make noise every year about fertiliser or the NCPB and many other issues. If the government gets it right, our work will be to produce more food on the farms so everyone can be comfortable as they make political noise," he said.
The farmers in Rift Valley require more than six million bags of planting fertiliser and another three million bags for top dressing every year. With diminishing soil fertility, they are relying heavily on fertiliser to boost production.
Maize and wheat production has been declining for four years mainly due to the use of substandard fertiliser coupled with bad weather. Last year, maize production dropped to about 34 million bags from about 44 million bags previously.
It’s this shortfall of about 10 million bags that has caused the government to allow maize imports in the next few weeks due to anticipated shortages. Millers have been allowed to import the first batch of four million bags to ensure prices of flour remain stable.
Farmers are urging the state, however, not to allow in excess imports that may lower the prices of the commodity considering the harvest will start in some areas by the end of July.
Menjo says the fertiliser issue will remain thorny and highly political until the government dialogues with farmers and other stakeholders. This way, farmers can benefit from cheaper and quality fertiliser every year without interruptions, he said.
"That way we will ensure our food security is sustained and farming issues possibly will be less political," he said.
Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, many farmers braved the situation to plant their crops. Agriculture experts predict adequate produce at the end of the year.
(Edited by V. Graham)