•The fertiliser will be packaged at the port and transported via SGR to factories.
•President William Ruto had vowed to lower the price of fertiliser from Sh3,500 to Sh2,500.
Image: KDTA
The Kenya Tea Development Agency Management Services Limited (KTDA MS) on Monday evening received the first shipment of 47,800 tonnes of fertiliser at the Port of Mombasa.
KTDA MS announced that the batch of NPK 26:5:5 compounded fertilisers, sourced directly from Russia, will be distributed to smallholder tea farmers nationwide.
"The NPK 26:5:5 chemically compounded fertiliser was procured directly from Russia for distribution to smallholder tea farmers,"KTDA MS said in a statement.
According to KTDA MS, the fertiliser will be packaged at the port and transported via SGR to factories, ensuring efficient delivery to farmers.
"The fertiliser will be bagged at port for onward distribution to farmers via SGR toNairobi and further to factories," KTDA MS said.
KTDA MS said that the arrangement aims to reduce costs for farmers, eliminating extra expenses for transportation from factory stores.
"Farmers do not incur extra cost transporting the fertiliser from the factory stores."
According to KTDA MS statement, the price of fertiliser has been adversely affected by the increasing expenses of natural gas, a crucial element in the production of NPK chemically compounded fertiliser.
KTDA MS also says thet the situation is escalated by unfavourable exchange rates, worldwide supply limitations, elevated crude oil expenses, and the high costs associated with shipping.
"The cost of fertiliser has been negatively impacted by rising cost of natural gas (a keycomponent in the manufacture of NPK chemically compounded fertiliser),unfavourable exchange rates, global supply constraints, high crude oil costs and thecost of shipment among other factors,"
KTDA underscores the importance of applying fertilizer to tea bushes at the start of the short rains for premium tea production.
"Application of fertiliser on tea bushes at the onset of short rains is necessary to ensureconsistent high quality and quantity of green leaf essential for premium tea production,KTDA emphasised.
President William Ruto had vowed to lower the price of fertiliser from Sh3,500 to Sh2,500.
"Upon assuming office I announced that the government will prepare farmers for the planting season that was late last year by making available 300,000 metric tonnes or six million bags subsidised fertilisers at Sh3,500 each down from Sh7,000 a bag last season," he said.