Farmers in the North Rift region have received a major boost after the government announced that it had set aside Sh5.73 billion to subsidize fertilizer prices.
The farmers have been lamenting over the high prices, with some saying they might not be able to plant – signaling a food crisis next year.
Currently, a 50-kilogram bag of planting fertilizer costs over Ksh6,000.
But in what might come as a big relief to farmers, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya on Friday, April 1, 2022, said the fertilizer price will drop by over half starting Saturday, April 2, 2022.
With the subsidy in place, a bag of DAP will cost Ksh2,800 CAN Ksh1,850 UREA Ksh2,700, NPK Ksh3,000, MOP Ksh2,500, and Sulphate Ammonia Ksh2,500.
Farmers will be able to access the subsidized fertilizers at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores across the country from Saturday.
Some farmers in the North Rift region have already started planting, with others expecting to plant within the next few days.
The Kenya Meteorological Department says the country will soon start witnessing long rains that will last up to May.
With the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, there have been fears that the prices of fertilizers would go as high as Ksh7,000 per bag.
CS Munya had in March said Kenya imports fertilizer from Russia and China and the Ukrainian invasion by Russia was bound to affect the supplies globally.
