Government Begins Distribution Of Fertilizer, This Is How To Register For It..

The government on Saturday officially started distributing assorted fertilisers to about four million farmers across the country through the National Cereals and Produce Board.

Agriculture PS Paul Ronoh flagged off the first consignment 400,000 metric tonnes of the fertilisers from the Export Trading Group warehouse in Bonje, Mombasa county.

“This is expected to reach the farmers, who are now planting during this long rainy season, in good time as promised by government,” Ronoh said.

Speaking after the flagging off of 45 trucks full of fertilisers, the PS said the fertiliser, which is of high quality, will be sold at Sh2,500 per 50kg bag.

He said the government will procure close to 7.5 million bags of fertilisers for farmers across the country for the long rainy season.

Farmers will access the fertilisers through the agro-dealers, agro-vets, the National Cereals and Produce Board and other sites, identified in collaboration with county governments so as to bring the fertilizer closer to the farmers.

“This arrangement will not only boost the morale of the farmers but will also enhance food security as promised by this administration,” he said.

For maize production, the government targets 63 million bags in harvests this year.

Farmers are encouraged to register themselves with the e-voucher system so as to access the fertilizers by dialling *616*3#.

“The government has tested these fertilizers to ensure that they meet the right quality standards considering the structure of our soil which over time has been made a little bit acidic,” the PS said.

Ronoh said they have made arrangements to use the consignment model so that the private sector, the agro-dealers, can get business with the subsidized fertilizers program.

“We have registered close to 16,000 agro-dealers who are working together with the key manufacturers like ETG to ensure that they access these fertilizers and distribute to the farmers,” Ronoh said.

During the short rains, PS Ronoh said, the government will distribute about 200,000 metric tonnes of additional fertilizers for the farmers who will be planting during the short rains.

The fertilisers are targeted for the 14 food chains including maize, potatoes, tea, pyrethrum, rice, coffee, among others in the 14 counties where farmers are planting the crops now.

These counties include Nyamira, Kisii, Nakuru, Kericho, Bomet, Narok, among others, who are in the planting season.

“For those who have not registered with the e-voucher system, use the online platform that we have developed (dialling *616*3#) to can get information and confirmation from accredited officers from the county governments who will visit their farms to ascertain the acreage, location, soil structure before they are loaded into the system,” the PS said.

The government currently has 6.4 million farmers in their database.