Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka (pictured) who is also the Chair of Agriculture in the Council of Governors (CoG), has warned that delays in subsidised fertiliser distribution could undermine farmers’ efforts and compromise harvests as the planting season nears.

Speaking at the Eldoret National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot, he emphasised the importance of timeliness in farming, urging the national government to ensure that subsidised fertilisers are delivered to NCPB depots on time ahead of the upcoming planting season. “Farming is all about timing. We cannot afford a scenario where planting fertiliser arrives when crops are already being weeded,” Lusaka said.

Additionally, the governor called for strict adherence to quality and quantity standards, noting that past incidents of poor-quality fertiliser and even stones being sold to farmers had eroded trust from farmers generally.

Lusaka also criticised the perennial shortage of fertiliser, which has often led to chaotic scenes of farmers scrambling for limited supplies.

He called for the adoption of the proposal for counties to manage fertiliser procurement through conditional grants from the national government, a plan that was rejected. “The national government must prioritise listening to farmers because they know what works best for them,” he added. Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Rono assured farmers that sufficient fertiliser stocks were already available in NCPB depots for both the short and long planting seasons.

“Ensure that you begin purchasing fertiliser early to prepare for the next season as they are readily available at the depots,”