Ruto’s subsidized fertilizer part of a donation from Russia, Govt insider
Russia donated fertilizer to be part of subsidized farm input to be sold to farmers at Sh2,500 per 50kg bag according to sources
Russia donated fertilizer to be part of subsidized farm input to be sold to farmers at Sh2,500 per 50kg bag according to sources.
The government has begun the process of reformulating 34,000 tonnes of fertilizer donation from Russia to produce 100,000 tonnes of finished fertilizer that is ready for use by farmers.
The fertilizer, which is a part of the subsidized input and will be sold at Sh2,500 per 50kg bag, down from Sh3,500, was donated by the Russian company Uralchem-Uralkali Group.
The Ministry of Agriculture customized the shipment, which arrived at the Mombasa port earlier this week, to manufacture soil- and crop-specific fertilizer.
“The process commenced this Tuesday, where 34,000 bags of the farm input was supplied to farmers,” A senior official in the Ministry of Agriculture said according to Saturday Nation.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture report released in June, an estimated 1.72 million bags of planting fertilizer and 1.3 million bags of top dressing fertilizer were redeemed by farmers in the maize, potatoes, coffee, horticulture, and sugar cane growing zones during the long rains.
The report further indicated that farmers from maize growing areas in Rift Valley are the main beneficiaries of the subsidized fertilizer, which was going for Sh3,500 per 50-kilogram bag
The country requires about 650,000 tonnes of fertilizer annually, and the government has introduced an array of measures to make available inputs at affordable rates to farmers.
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President William Ruto has announced a reduction of subsidized fertilizer prices from Sh3,500 to Sh2,500 per 50 kg bags for the short rains, targeting to distribute 2 million bags.
The revealation comes after section of Kenyans questioned how the fertilizer donation from Russia was used in Kenya.
A video showing President Vladimir Putin announcing the recipients of the inputs on Wednesday, August 2, prompted some Kenyans to doubt the 34,000 tonnes of free fertilizer that the Kenyan government received from Russia as a donation to increase food production.
The government of Kenya had in May 2023 received 34,400 tonnes of fertilizer in its raw form as a donation from Russia to boost farm production.
“President Putin says Russia gave Kenya 34,000 metric tonnes of Free fertilizer. Question to Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi, where is the donation?” Former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando posed.
“President Vladimir Putin donated over 30,000 metric tons of free fertilizer to Kenya and he insists it should have been provided to farmers free of charge,” Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Communications Director Phillip Etale stated.
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