• The planting season is set to start in high-producing areas in Rift Valley and the price of fertiliser for planting is now retailing at an average of Sh6,000 per 50kKg bag.
•Yara has offeed discounts to farmers who will register under their plan.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Farmers facing a crisis over high prices of fertiliser got a reprieve as Yara East Africa in partnership with Corteva rolled out an initiative to reduce prices.
The planting season is set to begin in high-producing areas in Rift Valley and the price of fertiliser is retailing at an average of Sh6,000 per 50kg bag.
Yara is offering discounts to farmers who will register under its plan and buy from them.
The plan to support farmers has been rolled out under the Africa Connect Digital Platform.
Speaking during the launch of the programme in the North Rift Region, Yara East Africa’s head of digital solutions, Vitalis Wafula, said high production costs was one of the impediments to achieving food security in the country.
Wafula said that through the programme, farmers would get access to farm inputs including seeds, fertiliser and pesticide at discounted prices.
“This will cushion farmers from high production costs and enable them to plant as they normally would. All other factors held constant, our farmers, will in turn produce good quantities of quality food to meet the growing market demand needs,” Wafiula said.
Yara East Africa is also offering training through the digital platform to farmers on good agronomical practices. These practices help promote soil fertility and maximum quality yields.
“Our fertilisers have the much-needed nutrients that promote sturdy and leafy maize plantations," Wafula said.
He said the nutrients enhance the soil fertility and enable more cobbing, hence, a plant can have 2-3 cobs that are full and with an even seed size across the cob.
Several farmers already planted using the Yara package during the pilot phase in Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu counties.
The farmers in the pilot programme said the additional support and training offered from the point of purchase to land preparation (tilling), to top dressing and insecticide application to harvesting and storage of the produce.
The farmers are given a package consisting of 8kgs of certified seeds and 50kg MiCROP planting fertiliser for use at planting and the top dressing bundle, which consists of the 50kgMiCROP topdressing fertiliser and 50ml insecticide that helps fight the fall armyworm.
Yara has promised to have the fertilizer in stock and urged farmers to enlist themselves under the Africa Connect Digital Platform so that they enjoy the discounts and benefits from this initiative.
The launch event was attended by officials from the ministry of Agriculture, agro dealers, distributors and farmers from the North Rift region.
Separately farmers representatives in the region met in Eldoret and pleaded with President Kenyatta to intervene so that the government can offer subsides that will further cut the prices of fertiliser.
Agriculture CS Peter Munya has last week indicated that more than Sh32 billion would be required to give the subsidies and that the price of fertilier may remain high.
But the farmers representatives led by Kipkorir Menjo and former MP Jesse Mais said the amount was not huge compared to the impact of food shortages in the country if farmers will not afford inputs
“Most farmer have already decided to cut down on production and soon it will be more expensive for the government to import maize if it does offer subsidies to enable farmers continue with food production," Menjo said,”, Menjo said.
(Edited by V. Graham)