Posted on March, 8, 2019 at 08:52 am
By AGATHA NGOTHO
The Agriculture ministry has received the go-ahead to procure subsidised fertiliser from the National Treasury. But it’s too little too late.
Procurement takes about two months.
Agriculture Chief Administrative Secretary Andrew Tuimur yesterday said the Treasury has released Sh2 billion for subsidised fertiliser.
On Monday, Treasury CS Henry Rotich said his ministry on Friday last week released Sh2 billion to the Agriculture ministry for fertiliser. “It is up to them to start the procurement process,” he said.
The procurement process, however, takes about two months.
The earliest the fertiliser can get to the Port of Mombasa is in May. By then, farmers will have planted their maize. Planting starts in mid-February to April 10 in many parts of the country.
“This is because you have to advertise and do an evaluation and this will take at least two months. Even if the government buys the fertiliser, it will be too late since farmers will have planted the long-rains crop,” Tuimur told the Star on the phone.
Tuimur said the ministry is still willing to purchase fertiliser but consultations on which method to use for procurement are ongoing.
Buying at Sh3100-Sh3,300
Kenya Farmers Association director Kipkorir Menjo said farmers are buying fertiliser from private dealers at Sh3,100 to Sh3,300 per bag. Last year, they were buying subsidised fertiliser for between Sh1,500 and Sh1,800.
National Cereals and Produce Board managing director Albin Sang said the current stock of fertiliser is 402,939 bags. They were carried forward from the last financial year of 2017-18.
Last year the government had planned to procure 166,750 tonnes, or 3.3 million bags, for the long rains this y.
Of this, the ministry managed to order 635,000 bags of local blends for the Access for Government Procurement Opportunities. The other 2.7 million bags of 50kg of conventional fertiliser are not available locally and were for importation using the framework contract that expired on January 10, Tuimur had earlier said.
The government was to procure the fertiliser in October 2018 so that by December, the consignment would have reached Mombasa.
This would have ensured that by January farmers would start buying the fertiliser from the National Cereals and Produce Board.
Procurement problems
On January 31, the chairman of the Strategic Food Reserves Fund Noah Wekesa said the government will not buy subsidised fertiliser.
Wekesa said although the government had been importing the fertiliser over the years, this time it will not be possible because of procurement problems.
Attorney General Kihara Kariuki had advised the Agriculture ministry not to import fertiliser through flawed procurement processes involving the firms contracted.
Source: The Star