Ruto’s first year: Eyes on farms as president pours billions into subsidised fertiliser

Cherangany, Trans Nzoia County is regarded as the country’s food basket; this is the bastion of maize farming, Kenya’s staple crop.  

Farmers here benefitted from the government's fertilizer subsidy promised by President William Ruto upon assuming office a year ago.

The prices of fertilizer that used to retail at 6500 shillings were slashed by half, to the relief of farmers. 

“Kitu cha kwanza ningependa kupongeza serikali kwa mambo ya mbolea..vile serikali ilisema itapunguza bei hatukuamini..tumehangaika kwa miaka mingi..tukiendelea hivo tutakuwa sawa..kwa hii mwaka tunatarajia mazao mengi sana kwa sababu tuliweza kuweka mbolea ya kutosha,” says Njuguna Mwangi, a farmer.

Mwangi says the government's fertilizer subsidy will be a factor in this year’s harvest.

“Hauwezi hesabu mayai kama haijaanguliwa lakini kama mwaka jana nilikuwa nimepanda ekari kumi lakini natarajia mazao mazuri kuliko mwaka jana,” he says.

President William Ruto in his inauguration speech directed that 1.4 million bags of fertilizer be availed to farmers at a maximum subsidized price of 3,500 shillings per 50kg bag down from 6500 shillings, as part of the government’s interventions to address the high cost of living.

“Our priority intervention is to make fertiliser and other agricultural inputs available..for the short rains we have already made arrangements to avail fertiliser at a subsidised rate of 3500… this fertiliser will be available from next week,” he said then.

Six days later, the subsidized fertilizer was availed at National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots and sub-depots countrywide. The prices of fertiliser would later drop by 1000 shillings when the president launched the second phase of the fertilizer subsidy program in August 2023.

The move boosted farmers' produce during the short rains.

Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi says that over 60m bags of maize are expected to be harvested countrywide this year following the subsidy program.

“We expect over 45-60m bags… in fact, we will hit over 60..that is one and the major way of ensuring a sustainable cost of living is down…what we have done is to ensure that we have subsidised production against consumption..within the last 7 months we have had this ambitious plan to subsidised fertiliser,” he says.

Another pledge was about resuscitating the tea and coffee sector… with President Ruto assigning deputy president Rigathi Gachagua to lead the overhauling of the coffee sector.

“Coffee is a cash crop that earned this country a lot of foreign exchange but has been on its knees for a long time…the reforms that we want to address is to enable farmers do proper quality coffee…management of the whole sector..cooperatives bill reforms need to be organised and everything should be under the cooperatives,” CS Linturi says.

But the reforms initiated are yet to stem the frustration of farmers in the coffee and tea-growing Mt Kenya region. early this month, coffee farmers in Mathioya in Muranga county farmers uprooted their coffee trees protesting poor market returns.

“Hakuna kitu tunaona ikiwa sawa kila kitu tunaona ni giza giza giza..ata ukilia hakuna mtu anakuskiza...tumeona hakuna haja ya kuendelea na hii ukulima,” says Robert Muigo, a farmer.

“Tunaomba serikali yrtu ituangalia tuweze kupata kuweka kitu kwa mfuko na kama sio hivyo tutangoa kahawa yetu na tutazidi kungoa,” adds Monica Wachira.

The revival of the Galana Kulalu irrigation project was also on President William Ruto's to-do list.

In January, President Ruto ordered its revival as part of his government's food security plan. The project located along the Kilifi and Tana River border has started attracting private investors through a public-private partnership model.

The Ksh.7.2 billion food security project which covers 1.75 million acres of land was launched by the government seven years ago but stalled before the Kenya Kwanza pledged to give it another try.