January 7, 2013
Kenya imports over one million bags of fertiliser in 2013
The Kenyan government is buying more than one million bags of fertiliser for the next planting season this year.
National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB) Managing Director Gideon Misoi said the importation will be in addition to another 800,000 bags of DAP fertiliser for planting which is already at the boards depots. Misoi said the KES2 billion (US$23 million) consignment is expected in the country in a month.
The affected small scale farmers own land ranging between 5-10 acres where they produce corn and other crops mainly for domestic consumption.
The NCPB said it is yet to determine the exact losses caused by the floods to food crops in the region. Many of the large scale farmers had already harvested their crop before the rains.
Misoi said the board would assess the situation and give details. NCPB had indicated that the farmers have more than 40 million bags of corn from last year''s season and that the harvest would be adequate for the country.
The board has already bought more than 530,000 bags of corn from farmers and Misoi says the board is now focusing on providing adequate fertiliser for farmers to be able to produce more this year.
Misoi said the fertiliser subsidies programme would further help farmers to increase food production this year so that the country can be self-reliant in food production.
Meanwhile heavy rains in parts of the North Rift region will affect corn production especially in areas which have been hit by floods and mudslides. Some of the farmers in the region had not harvested their crop when the heavy rains set in.