• The farmers have given the government until February 15 to budget fertiliser subsidies.
•Farmers complain that the high prices of the fertiliser, fuel and other farm inputs will likely triple the cost of farming this year and reduce the acreage under cultivation.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Farmers have held a crisis meeting over the shortage and high prices of fertiliser that costs more than Sh5,500 per 50kg bag ahead of the planting season.
The farmers have given the government until February 15 to budget for fertiliser subsidies. They did not say what they would do if their ultimatum was not heeded.
Subsidies coming
Tiren and Kutuny met President Kenyatta and agreed money for fertiliser subsidies would be provided by mid next month
Farmers complain the high prices of fertiliser, fuel and other farm inputs will likely triple the cost of farming this year.
Moiben MP Silas Tiren, who is chairman of the parliamentary committee on Agriculture, attended the meeting in Eldoret. He said the price of fertiliser was Sh2,500 per bag of DAP for planting. It will probably increase to about Sh6,000, he said.
Tiren said he and Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny had met President Uhuru Kenyatta and agreed that the money for the fertiliser subsidies would be provided by the middle of next month.
“That is why we are saying farmers should be patient until February 15, expecting the President to announce government plans on the subsidies," Tiren said.
He said the President had promised that the issue would be discussed in the Cabinet by then.
Tiren said although the country was in a political mood, food security was at risk if farmers cannot afford fertiliser and go back to their farms.
“In fact, as farmers this is the time we are looking for leaders and not politicians. We as farmers will only support those who stand with us, not those who only want to use farmers for politics," Tiren said.
He said farmers were tired of politicians who whipped up emotions and profiled their colleagues because of politics but did not deal with the plight of farmers.
Tiren said his committee would follow up to ensure the money for the subsidies is allocated so farmers will access the fertiliser at prices of not more than Sh2,500 per bag as was the case last year.
More than Sh10 billion will be required to implement the subsidies programme to benefit mostly small-scale producers.
If nothing is done about this fertiliser issue, then we are likely to face a serious food crisis soonMoiben MP Silas Tiren
The government had rolled out a pilot programme to introduce the E-fertiliser programme under which registered farmers get vouchers to buy fertiliser from distributors at subsidised prices.
The distributors are compensated by the state.
The prices of fertiliser have gone up, causing panic among farmers in the Rift Valley ahead of the planting season.
A 50kg bag of DAP for planting is now going for an average of Sh5,500, compared with Sh5,000 a month ago.
Farmers fear that the price will rise to more than Sh6,000 and many producers may not be able to afford it. They will reduce production.
“If nothing is done about this fertiliser issue, then we are likely to face a serious food crisis soon," Tiren said.
The fertiliser supply chain had been disrupted by the Covid-19 situation, which interrupted delivery of some ingredients required by manufacturers.
China and Russia, which also account for a third of the world’s fertiliser production, have also cut down on exports after they experienced a drop in food production.
“These challenges coupled with fuel costs and shipping issues have completely affected the supply of fertiliser in the local markets," Kenya Farmers Association director Kipkorir Menjo said.
(Edited by V. Graham)