BOOST PRODUCTION

500,000 farmers listed for e-voucher fertiliser subsidies in North Rift

More farmers are registering so they can benefit from the e-vouchers being used to buy the fertiliser at NCPB depots.

In Summary

• Farmers are queueing for the second week to buy at subsidised prices of Sh3,500 per 50kg bag.

• NCPB North Rift region manager Gilbert Rotich said farmers should not panic over supplies because the government will ensure they access the quantities they require.

Farmers line up to register at the NCPB depot in Eldoret on February 10th 2023
Farmers line up to register at the NCPB depot in Eldoret on February 10th 2023
Image: KNA

Counties in the North Rift region have registered about 500,000 farmers for the fertiliser subsidies programme.

More farmers are registering so they can benefit from the e-vouchers being used to buy the fertiliser at NCPB depots.

Uasin Gishu county has registered 98,000 farmers for the programme.

Agriculture executive Edward Sawe said Uasin Gishu will use its stores to help ensure farmers get subsidised fertiliser in areas the NCPB does not have stores.

“We are happy that the distribution of fertiliser is going smoothly and as counties, we will back up the process to ensure all registered farmers benefit,” he said.

Trans Nzoia has registered slightly more than 100,000 farmers, the same as Nandi county. Registration is also ongoing in Elgeyo Marakwet along with other counties in the Rift Valley region.

Trans Nzoia government will also give out 15,000 bags of fertiliser to farmers in the county.

Deputy Governor Phillomena Kapkory said the county fertiliser will supplement the national government's initiative to boost food production. 

She said the cost of fertiliser had skyrocketed but the subsidies would enable most farmers to afford the commodity ahead of this year's planting season.

The government has delivered more fertiliser at all NCPB depots in the North Rift region as farmers queue for the second week to buy at subsidised prices of Sh3,500 per 50kg bag.

The additional fertiliser was delivered to Eldoret from Mombasa using Kenya Railways wagons and transported to far-flung depots using lorries.

NCPB North Rift region manager Gilbert Rotich said farmers should not panic over supplies because the government will ensure they access the quantities they require.

More than seven million bags of fertiliser for planting are expected to be delivered to all parts of the country ahead of the planting season next month.

WATCH: The latest videos from the Star