The government has released Sh1.2 billion to subsidise the cost of fertiliser sold to tea farmers, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya has said. 

He said the move is part of the reforms in the tea sub-sector aimed at reducing the cost of tea production in the country.

Munya was speaking at the Port of Mombasa where he flagged off transportation of 55,000 tonnes of Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) fertiliser to be ferried upcountry via the Standard Gauge Railway.

“The government has decided to support the farmers with a subsidy so that the price can be lower, and the proposal to support them with Sh1.2 billion to reduce the fertiliser by at least Sh400 per 50 kg per bag bag,” he said.

After the subsidy the cost will decline slightly from Sh3,072 to Sh2,500 per 50kg bag depending on the distance of transshipment. Munya said the future is producing fertiliser locally.

“We are not importing subsidised fertilizer, we are subsidising the cost of fertiliser that they have imported, to ease the burden of the farmer, but there is a plan to see if they can buy locally manufactured fertiliser to beat the 20 per cent fertiliser deficit,” the CS said.

Munya termed the high cost of fertiliser as a problem attributed by Covid-19 import restrictions globally.

“We want to see what we can do to make fertiliser very affordable, so that the primary beneficiary who is the farmer gets relieved and gets returns from their produce,” he stated.

Munya termed the move by the government as a game changer in terms of reducing cost. Many farmers have been grappling with production costs without getting any returns.

“These are some of the changes that we have been implementing, remember we have been carrying out reforms in the tea sub-sector intended to improve the earnings of the small holder farmers and make sure that the sector is viable and farmers are earning money,” said Munya.