Former Uasin Gishu Senator Isaac Melly plans to revive a bill that he wrote in 2014, should he be elected Member of Parliament in the August poll.
Melly drafted the Agricultural Input Support Program Bill while serving as Senator.
He says the bill is aimed at protecting the farmers by ensuring that the government pays half of the cost of farm inputs.
The former Senator is planning to re-introduce the bill should he succeed in his bid to be the next Soy MP.
Farmers have been lamenting over the high cost of farm inputs, with some fearing they might not be able to go back to their farm this season.
“Most of the farmers are giving up because they see no need for investing in farming as the government is not taking care of their interest,” stated the former Senator.
Within the past few years, the cost of fertilizer has risen from Ksh2,000 to the current price of Ksh6,000 for a 50-kilogram bag.
According to Isaac Melly, the high cost of production has left farmers demoralized – as they do not see the value of continuing to engage in maize and wheat farming.
He is, however, optimistic that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) government under the leadership of Deputy President William Ruto will correct the current challenges facing farmers.
DP Ruto has been promising to reduce the cost of fertilizer to Ksh2,500 within the first 100 days of his government.
But even as the farmers look forward to better days after the general election, the former Senator is asking the government to ensure it provides subsidies to farmers ahead of the planting season.
“It is the duty of government to protect farmers, and this is what we expect it to do now, irrespective of whether the region is allied to the Deputy President or not,” said the Soy MP aspirant.
North Rift is considered the country’s food basket, but in recent years, there has been a systematic drop in the acreage of maize and wheat, due to the many challenges that farmers have been encountering.
