The government has assured farmers of sufficient fertilizer as the long rain continues amid concerns by farmers that the stocked fertilizers at the cereal boards could not meet the demand.
National Fertilizer Technical Committee Chairman Haron Khator says at least 1 million bags of fertilizer have been released from the Mombasa port for onwards upcountry delivery even as the government ordered importation of an additional 1.5 million metric tonnes. Khator who is also the Administration Secretary, State Department for Agriculture, spoke when he conducted the inspection of the Thika National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores in Kiambu County.
Khator said capping the number of bags of subsidized fertilizer that a farmer should purchase at the cereals board helps in streamlining distribution and weeding out cartels who might buy many bags to sell at higher prices. "Limiting the number of bags to purchase at the cereal board is not an indicator of shortage of fertilizer but rather to streamline distribution.
We have adequate stocks to push us to the next planting season," assured Khator.
