The cost of fertilizer is expected to drop in six months in a bid to produce more food and avoid food shortage.
Deputy President William Ruto has announced subsidized fertiliser will be sold for Sh1,200 per bag from December.
Currently, the cost of a 50kg bag of fertilizer is Sh1800, but Ruto said with improved infrastructure, including transportation using the Standard Gauge Railway(SGR), the price will fall by Sh600 per bag.
“When I was Agriculture minister, I found fertiliser was being sold at Sh6,000 per bag, but we reduced that to Sh2,500 and then Sh2,300 and now Sh1,800. But now as Jubilee, we have said that from December, the fertiliser will sell at Sh1,200 per bag,” said Ruto.
The DP was speaking during the commisioning of the New KCC factory in Eldoret which was refurbished at a cost of Sh400 million.
“The reduced fertiliser prices will enable our farmers to produce more so we avoid the problems we have now, like the shortage of maize flour,” he said.
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Ruto noted that the Jubilee government has invested heavily in improving the agriculture sector. He said New KCC paid farmers Sh2 billionin 2013 , but now, payments have gone up to Sh5 billion annually.
“The returns to farmers in 2017 are two-and-a-half times more than what farmers used to get in 2013. Mr President, I am also a farmer, but not as good as you and I was one of those running a milk kiosk, which I closed because New KCC is paying better,” Ruto said.
He also disputed NASA’s claims that New KCC pays farmers Sh30 per kilogramme of milk, saying they are paid Sh43 per kilogramme.
