The national government has announced plans to register all farmers across the country.
According to President William Ruto, the registration will start as early as January 2023.
Speaking during an Interdenominational Christmas service at the Eldoret Sports Club, Ruto said the registration will enable them to know the number of acreage each farmer has.
This, the President said, will be used in their plans to ensure every farmer gets subsidized fertilizer.
“We had meeting with our leaders and we agreed that we want to register all farmers. Every farmer during registration will tell us how much acreage he/she has and the amount of fertilizer needed,” Ruto said.
The cabinet in November approved importation of subsidized fertilizer that will be availed to farmers at Ksh3,500.
Cartels
But even as the government plans to provide affordable fertilizer to farmers, the President admits that previously, cartels and middlemen had taken advantage of the initiative.
“Most times, fertilizers end up in the hands of middle and cartels but this time we want to ensure the fertilizer to g8et to farmers directly,” the head of state said.
He further noted that the registration will start in January with chiefs, assistant chiefs and village elders mandated to execute the task.
“We want to know who the farmer is, how many acres of land they have so that as a government, we can plan well in food production and deal with the shame if hunger,” he said.
When he was sworn in as the fifth President, Ruto insisted that his plan to address the high cost of living was through increased food production.
His administration has already overseen distribution of at least two million bags of subsidized fertilizers for farmers during short rains.
The fertilizer was accessible to farmers through the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and Ksh3,500 per bag – almost half the price the same bag was retailing earlier in the year during planting season.
