The shocking admission was made by Kebs, the standardisation agency, before the National Assembly’s Agriculture committee.
It has not been established how much has been sold by the National Cereals and Produce Board depots across the country, complete with Kebs stamps of authenticity.
Some could be sold by private shops.
Kebs managing director Esther Ngari told the committee on Wednesday that innocent farmers have been duped into buying the fakes, now confirmed to be Diatomite. The Kebs labels also are fake, she said.
So far the agency has impounded 5,840 bags of the fake fertiliser bearing their standardisation marks.
It is not clear how many more bags could have been bought by farmers, a racket that will hit the struggling Kenyan farmer hard.
President William Ruto has already fired a warning to cartels behind the fake fertiliser syndicate, as farmers are rushing to buy subsidised fertiliser.
Speaking in Kakamega county on Wednesday, President Ruto ordered the government machinery to crush those behind the distribution of the fake substance.
“We are going to make sure those who sell fake fertilisers face the music that they deserve. Just today, we have arrested some of the characters who want to take advantage of our fertiliser supply programme and we have many more who are facing court,” the President warned.
MPs are calling on anti-graft detectives to take action.
“We want the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to urgently take up this case, begin a probe so the culprits can be arraigned and answer charges,” Marakwet West MP Timothy Kipchumba told the Star.
“The product being distributed is not certified by Kebs. The product which KEBS initially certified is different from what has been seized from various NCPB depots in the country and condemned as sub-standard and counterfeited and thus not suitable for sale in the market,” Ngari told the committee.
Areas where the counterfeit product was impounded include the Elbergon NCPB, Kipkaren Salient, Ziwa and Olenguruone, Kwale, Turbo, Kipkaren River and Moi’s Bridge in Kitale.
Others are Butere, Ishiara, Mwea and Kilifi
The official confirmation comes against the backdrop of public outcry abo fake fertilisers being distributed to farmers at the time farms are being prepared for planting.
The confirmation comes as farmers are on a fertiliser-buying spree in readiness for planting.
On Tuesday, police officers in Kakamega impounded 700 bags of fertiliser mixed with stones.
Ngari said the fake substance is still in circulation.
She disclosed the substance is circulated under the standardisation marks belonging to SBL – Innovate Manufacturers Limited.
SBL-Innovate Manufacturers Limited, according to Ngari, used the Kebs standardisation marks on a product never certified by the agency.
“The company displayed the mark on a product that had not undergone the mandatory certification process as stipulated by the Standards Act and governed by the applicable standard,” Ngari said.
The certification requirement obligates companies to consistently manufacture quality products and offer for sale certified products during validity period of the mark. SBL-Innovate Manufacturers Limited breached this, she said.
Kebs was, however, quick to distance the impounded fertiliser from the fertiliser subsidy programme being rolled out by the government.
“The product by the SBL-Innovate Manufacturers Limited is not on a Government subsidy programme because it failed in the labelling requirements of similar subsidy products,” Ngari clarified.
The fertiliser being distributed by the government is branded ‘Fanaka’ and clearly marked ‘Not For Resale’.
The product that has so far been impounded, according to the standardisation body, is marked ‘GPS-PLUS Organic’ fertiliser.
The Agriculture Committee is chaired by Tigania West MP John Mutunga.
The probe is informed by recent media reports of cartels selling fake fertilisers to unsuspecting farmers.
The MD told MPs that they acted on a tip-off from a journalist who wanted to know about the fertiliser being distributed by the NCPB
“Through routine market surveillance activities and public complaints, KEBS recently identified a potential breach of the certification by SBL-Innovate Manufacturers Limited,” Ngari told MPs.
“Our investigation reveals that SBL-Innovate Manufacturers engaged in misuse of the Kebs standardisation mark on a product that was not certified by Kebs.”
Ngari said Kebs officers visited the NCPB stores immediately but were denied access as the Board’s management demanded an official request before they were allowed to conduct tests.
“We had challenges accessing the samples from NCPB. After we did the letter, on 19th January, we wrote to the NCPB to get access and we received their letter on 31st January. We collected 59 samples that failed the tests,” the Kebs boss told the committee.
From Kebs tests, the substance was found to have high levels of PH and lack organic matter, which is an important ingredient in qualifying a substance to be a fertiliser.
MPs expressed fears the fake fertiliser could have been in circulation longer and the potential risk that poses to farmers across the country could be dire.
“How often do you do your surveillance? What is the effect on the farmers who bought and used this fertilizer? Does it have any effect on the crops? committee chairman Mutunga asked.
Nyando MP Jared Okelo demanded the surveillance be extended to include private stores where he claimed the fraud could be rampant.
“If they could manage to store fake fertiliser at NCPB stores, which we know is a government agency, there are fears the situation could be worse in privately owned stores,” Okelo said.
Kebs has so far suspended the standardisation mark No. 60392 for organic fertiliser, Brand BL-GPC Original that was issued to SBL-Innovate Manufacturers Limited.
Ngari also said her officers have seized all unauthorised products from the company found in NCPB depots.
“KEBS has also initiated legal proceedings against SBL Innovate Manufacturers Limited to hold them accountable for this violation,” Ngare said.
The Kebs boss also informed the committee that the agency has written to the Director of Public Prosecution to press charges.
The Mutunga-led panel is also to meet Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi to shed light on the fake fertiliser.
The Agriculture Committee will also meet National Cereals and Produce Board top brass to explain how the counterfeit commodity found its way to their stores.
NCPB will also tell the committee the quantity of the substandard fertilizer that has found its way to farmers and map out areas where the commodity was sold.
Speaking to the media after the Wednesday session, Mutunga also confirmed the Committee will summon SBL-Innovate Manufacturers Limited to explain the breach of certification requirements.
