Farmers have asked the government to intervene through subsidies to help reduce the price of fertilizer.
They want the input sold for less than Sh2,500 per 50kg bag from the current high of about Sh6,000.
The farmers also want the government to allocate Sh10 billion to the Agricultural Finance Corporation so that they can access credit to enable them prepare for the planting season which starts mid-February.
“If the subsidies and credit facilities are not put in place then many farmers will not be able to afford farm inputs because the costs of farming have also been affected by high costs of fuel”, said director of the Kenya Farmers Association Kipkorir Menjo.
His sentiments were supported by other representatives of the farmers including Thomas Boen and David Kiberenge.
They want the subsidies also extended to seeds whose prices have gone up.
The farmers, through Moiben MP Sila Tiren and Menjo, have already presented their demands to CS for Agriculture Peter Munya who has promised to respond before mid-February after the Cabinet discusses the matters.
“We have given the government two weeks to respond so that farmers will have adequate time to prepare for the planting season”, Tiren said.
Boen accused leaders of shifting attention to politics and abandoning the farmers.
“The leaders should know that we eat to live. We don’t live to eat and time is coming when we will all have to deal with a food crisis because farmers are not being assisted to produce more”, said Boen.
Tiren, who is chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, attended the meeting in Eldoret said the price of fertilizer should come down to about Sh2,500 per bag of DAP as was the case last year.
DAP is used for planting and farmers fear that as demand goes up the price will likely increase beyond Sh6,000.
Tiren said he together with Cheranganyi MP Joshua Kuttuny had met President Kenyatta and agreed that the money for the fertilizer subsidies would be provided by mid next month.
“That is why we are saying farmers will be patient until February 15, expecting the President to announce government plans on the subsidies”, said Tiren. 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 would not afford fertilizer and go back to the 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 dwelt on whipping up emotions and profiling their colleagues but were not dealing with critical issues like the plight of farmers.
Edited by Henry Makori
