Commodity Watch

Fertilizer Prices To Drop From Ksh 6,500 To Ksh 3,500

BY Jane Muia · September 14, 2022 12:09 pm

KEY POINTS

Farmers have been hit by scarcity of fertilizer in recent months, as the prices continue with an upward spree. Currently, a 50kg bag of fertilizer costs between 4200 to 7,000 shillings in some regions after prices increased in the global market due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Under the subsidy program, farmers purchased 50kg of DAP at 2,800 shillings from 6,000 shillings. The subsidy saw Urea retail at 2,700 shillings, CAN 1,950, NPK 3,000, MOP 2500, and Sulphate Ammonia at 2,500 shillings, from 6,500, 3,900 and 4,900, 3,800, and 3,800 shillings, respectively.

Famers will from next week purchase a 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer at 3,500 shillings from the current 6,500 shillings if the new president of Kenya William Ruto fulfills his promise of cutting the price of the commodity.

Speaking on Tuesday during his inaugural held at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, Ruto said 1.4 million bags of fertilizer are ready for sale to the farmers, in a move meant to increase food production amid projections of depressed rains.

“I appeal to county governments in eastern, central, and western regions where we are expecting short rains to work with us to make sure that this fertilizer is available to all farmers in that region so that we can begin the journey to increase our food production initiative,” he said.

He blamed the expensive farm inputs for the high cost of living which pushed the inflation rate to 8.5 percent in August. Moreover, the high cost of farm inputs has triggered low production, especially in Maize which is used as the main meal in many households.

The president said that his administration will ensure farm inputs, including quality seeds and fertilizer are available to farmers at an affordable price.

“The forecast for maize harvest this year is below 30 million bags against the normal production of 40 million bags. The main cause of the decline in production is the high cost of inputs,” he added.

In his campaign pledges, Ruto had vowed to lower the price of fertilizer from 6,000 shillings to 2,500 shillings as well as get rid of cartels and brokers exploiting farmers.

Section of farmers has been blaming the government for delaying subsidized fertilizer in the country. In April, the ministry of agriculture announced a 5.7 billion shillings fertilizer subsidy that slashed the initial fertilizers by almost half.

Farmers however say the subsidized fertilizer was not accessed by a majority of them, and they were pushed to plant with insufficient inputs, a move that will highly impact production later in the year.

The World Bank 2019/20 Kenya Economic Update indicates that subsidized fertilizer majorly benefits affluent farmers and companies that distribute the manure. Kenya requires about 650,000 tonnes of fertilizer annually for enhanced production.

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