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Over 650,000 small-scale tea farmers affiliated to Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) will receive fresh supply of subsidised fertiliser starting today.

Wilson Muthaura, KTDA chief executive said they expect all farmers to receive the farm input before and after Christmas festivities and immediately apply them in their farms in order to benefit from the ongoing long rains.

The second consignment of was flagged off yesterday by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi at the Mombasa Port for onward distribution via Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Nairobi and subsequently to factories.

“We have flagged off over 45,000 tonnes of fertiliser which translates to over 900,000 bags that we want our farmers to use to apply to their tea,” he said, adding that this is as a result of the commitment the government has made to continually support them.  “Since we have made it clear that we want to increase productivity so that we can get more yield, the government has stepped in to subsidise the cost of fertiliser and farmers are now buying fertiliser at Sh2,500 per bag,” said Linturi.

He said the government, through the ministry, is committed to ensuring that smallholder farmers continue to access subsidised fertiliser thus cushioning them against high prices that has characterised the market,” he said.

To further support the farmers, Linturi revealed that the second consignment will be delivered directly to nearby tea buying centres, eliminating the need for farmers to incur additional costs transporting fertiliser from factory stores to their farms.

Successful delivery

The consignment comprises over 900,000 bags totalling 45,232 tonnes of fertiliser that KTDA has imported for its farmers as part of total fertiliser order which totals 92,737 tonnes for the 2023/2024 year.

The ship carrying the fertiliser docked at the Mombasa Port on December 18, and follows the successful delivery of the first consignment of 956,000 bags of 50kgs (47,800 tonnes) which was received at the port, and distributed to farmers, in October this year.

Speaking at the same event, KTDA Holdings Chairman, Enos Njeru, said: “We are pleased to be flagging off the second fertiliser consignment of the year for distribution to our farmers.” This follows, he added, follows the successful importation and distribution of the first batch of fertiliser in October this year, which farmers received and applied to their tea ahead of the short rain season.

Njeru said the delivery of the consignment comes against the backdrop of global challenges in the shipping and logistics space that has been occasioned by various challenges.

“These include disruptions caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as the ongoing Israel-Hamas war which has led to the re-routing of shipping lines away from the Suez Canal.”

Njeru confirmed the agency has introduced packages of 25 kgs bags instead of the traditional 50kgs to ease the carrying of heavy weights while applying fertiliser in the farms.

He assured that in order to avoid lengthy delays in fertiliser delivery for the farmers, the agency has embarked on early procurement of next year’s fertiliser so that it reaches farmers in good time.

Last week, KTDA board of directors complained that the government is yet to release about Sh5 billion fees for subsidised fertiliser which Linturi attributed to financial challenges the government has faced in the recent past.