Gov’t to issue over 1 million bags of subsidized fertilizer amid high demand

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has announced that over 1 million bags of subsidized fertilizer will be distributed starting Monday, March 24, following a brief disruption in the supply chain.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Kagwe pointed out that farmers who visited National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots over the past two days faced difficulties redeeming their e-voucher messages for the much-needed fertilizers due to transportation issues.

He however reassured farmers that the logistical challenges have now been resolved.

“We are also aware that for the last two days, farmers who visited NCPB depots could not redeem their e-voucher messages to access subsidized fertilizer because of the logistical challenges to avail the farm input. Despite the setback, the issuance remained stable all along,” said Kagwe.

“However, the Government would like to assure farmers that all the logistical challenges have been addressed and that as from Monday 24th, March, 2025 we expect the issuance of over 1 million bags of fertilizer to stabilize and match the high demand."

To accelerate distribution, Kagwe stated that the government has deployed train wagons carrying fertilizer from the Mombasa port, with the first shipment expected to reach the Naivasha inland port by Sunday morning. Additionally, another 1,380 metric tons of fertilizer are en route to Mombasa.

“The spirit by our farmers should remain high by coming out in numbers to redeem their e-voucher messages occasioned by the onset of the rains which could have caused panic among those who would not want to be late to plant their crops,” said the CS.

“To this end, I assure farmers that we are working overnight to ensure they will all plant within the recommended time because the supply of fertilizer is sufficient. In addition, we have agreed with contracted suppliers through the NCPB to increase supply of the farm input.”

Further, Kagwe highlighted that the Ministry has seen record-high interest from farmers, which has resulted in NCPB depots reaching full capacity since December 2024, emphasizing that the increased demand has led to the swift replenishment of the input.

“The high demand works in our favor, since it now creates space in our depots and swiftly suppliers have been instructed to resume deliveries and effective by next week stores will be fully replenished,” he said.  

The CS also warned farmers to be vigilant against counterfeit products, urging them to only purchase fertilizers from registered distributors and NCPB outlets to avoid falling victim to criminals selling substandard products.

“We would also like to urge our farmers to beware of criminals taking advantage of the high demand of the farm input by illegally selling fake or substandard fertilizer. Farmers are encouraged to only purchase fertilizers from registered distributors and NCPB,” he said.

“The efforts put in place by the Anti-Counterfeit Authority to crackdown such criminals are encouraged and hailed.”