The price of fertiliser will drop further when the government begins to distribute a new consignment of the farm input in January, President William Ruto has announced.
Ruto said the government has ordered some 400,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser which is expected at the Port of Mombasa early next year.
“We sold fertiliser to farmers at Sh3,500 but we will make sure the cost goes down further in January. We will keep reducing the price until every farmer is able to produce the maximum with ease,” he said.
During his inauguration speech on September 13, Ruto ordered a reduction in fertiliser prices from Sh6,500 to Sh3,500 per 50kg bag.
Speaking during Christmas celebrations at Eldoret Sports Club in Uasin Gishu, Ruto said he is still committed to lowering the cost of living.
“We will bring down the cost of living by bringing down the cost of food. We cannot continue to be a country that is food insecure,” he added.
He announced that the government will soon register all farmers to weed out brokers and middlemen during the distribution of fertiliser and seed.
“We will register all farmers. We want farmers to let us know the sizes of their farms and the amount of fertiliser they need and when,” he explained.
He regretted that middlemen and brokers have been getting in the way of government plans to give farmers inputs needs to increase food production.
“This time around, we want to make sure that fertiliser gets to farmers directly,” he added.
The President further said chiefs, their assistants and village elders will spearhead the process of registering farmers starting in January.
He further said the government has identified 1,800 stockists across the country whom farmers will purchase fertiliser from.
“We don’t want farmers to travel long distances to purchase fertiliser.”
