Kenya’s breadbasket is among the areas hard hit by the circulation of fake fertiliser in the country, analysis of government records indicates.
Western and Rift Valley – the traditional granaries – received the highest amount of the substandard fertiliser, with fears being raised of a possible threat to the country’s food security.
Records from both Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) as well as the Ministry of Agriculture show that Western and Rift Valley received substantial amounts of the fake fertiliser, some just Diatomite, some with pebbles and sand.
A Kenya Bureau of Standards letter seen by the Star red-flagged at least 17 areas where the sub-standard fertiliser was stocked and sold to farmers. All failed all the standard tests.
“Following a market surveillance activity by KEBS conducted in the month of February 2024, samples of your organic fertiliser (GPC Original Plus), were drawn from various regions of the country and tested against a Kenya Standards KS 2290:2018 Organic fertiliser – specification failed to comply with the requirement of the standards,” the Bureau of Standards letter stated.
The communication dated March 8 was addressed to SBL Manufacturers Limited, the company behind the fake fertiliser distribution.
The samples that failed the requirement were collected from two NCPB stores in Kitale, Bungoma, Ndanai, Sotik, Kilgoris, Migori, Ntimaru, Kehancha, Kisii, Homa Bay, Muhoroni and Malava.
Other areas where the fake was located included Kendu Bay, Kakamega, Butere and Ugunja NCPB.
Kebs gave the standardisation mark to SBL-Innovate Manufacturers Limited to distribute organic fertilizer — BL-GPC Original.
The company, however, and in total breach of the law manufactured ‘GPS-PLUS Organic’ – substandard fertiliser and repackaged it with the standardization mark issued by Kebs.
The letters by NCPB South Rift Region Eng. Josephat Bangi called for immediate withdrawal of that brand of fertiliser from NCPB stores.
“Consequently, we hereby notify you that pursuant to provisions of Section 10A of the Standards Act, permit number 60392 issued to you to use standardisation Mark on your Organic fertiliser (SBL-GPC Original) has been suspended forthwith,” Bangi wrote.
“You are required to recall the non-compliant products from the market.”
The fakes could, however, be widespread, as same product was stocked in several NCPB stores across the country and were being sold to farmers before the state issued the cease orders.
NCPB ceased selling the controversial fertiliser on March 9, 2024.
At that time, there was a total of 6,552 bags of 50 kilograms spread across various NCPB stores signalling the extent the contaminated product may have been circulated.
According to the ministry’s breakdown, most of the impounded fertiliser was found in NCPB stores in the Nyanza and Western region, where a total of 2,060 bags were impounded.
North Rift and South Rift regions combined were found to have stocked collectively 2,050 bags of the substandard fertiliser.
Some 1,079 bags were impounded in the Coastal region, while Northern and Nairobi were found to have stocked 913 bags and 448 bags of the fake fertiliser, respectively.
In Western, the fake fertiliser were found in Webuye (177 bags), Butere (99), Malaba (93), Bungoma (73), Homa Bay (107), Kisumu (157), Malava (272), Kisii (64), Muhoroni (144) and Awendo (132).
Others areas where the fake commodity was impounded include Hamisi (22), Kapsokwony (87), Kipkaren River (158), Migori (22) and Ntimaru (76) bags.
In North Rift, the concentration was at Turbo (38 bags), Kapsowar (71), Kipkarren salient (42), Lessos (123), Moi’s Bridge (39), Turbo (38) and Kitale (61).
In South Rift the substandard fertilisers were impounded in Nyahururu depot (88 bags), Eldama Ravine (78), Ol Kalau (112), Nakuru (184), Subukia (150), Bomet (34), Sotik (2), Narok (64), Kedowa (107), Mulot (11), Olenguruone (66), Ndanai (120) and Kipipiri (61 bags).
The Kenya Bureau of Standards raised the alarm over fake fertiliser on the market being sold by the government-controlled NCPB in the planting season.
The shocking admission was made by Kebs, the standardisation agency, before the National Assembly’s Agriculture committee.
Kebs managing director Esther Ngari told the committee innocent farmers have been duped into buying the fakes, now confirmed to be Diatomite.
Kenyans may not be able to know the exact numbers of the farmers duped in the syndicate as no records were kept by the sellers of the fake fertiliser.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi on Tuesday told a Parliamentary committee his ministry could not establish the volumes of fertiliser sold as there was no requirement of record keeping.
“The Ministry is not in a position to give data on number of farmers who were supplied with the fertiliser,” he told the National Assembly’s Agriculture Committee chaired by Tigania West MP John Mutinga.
“Farmers were not required to be registered in order to buy the soil amendment fertiliser and conditioner.”
“Records of the number of farmers who bought the product and where, therefore, were not maintained.”
On Tuesday, the National Assembly’s Agriculture committee accused Joseph Kariuki, the CEO of SBL, of selling quartz to unsuspecting farmers.
Kariuki who was appearing to clarify his role in the fake fertiliser scandal was taken to task after it emerged that he even stored products at the NCPB stores without a contract with Africa Diatomite.
Kariuki, before registering his SBL Innovate Company, used to sell the soil conditioners on behalf of Africa Diatomite.
Kariuki had told the committee that he used the contract agreement between his SBL Innovate Company and Diatomite Africa to have National Cereals and Produce Board distribute his product — soil conditioner.
But upon interrogation of the documents Kariuki submitted, it emerged that the contract with Diatomite Africa came eight months after he had inked agreement for distribution with NCPB.
MPs demanded that he explain what document he used to ink the deal with the cereals board.
Soy MP David Kiplagat asked what document Kariuki used for the contract with NCPB to access their stores for storage and distribution of the product.
“How did you convince a government agency to accept a product without a contract?” Kiplagat asked.
Committee chairman John Mutunga said, “I would like to inform Kariuki that we did not come here to joke.
“The information he is sharing with the committee is inconsistent, which clearly shows that he is lying to Kenyans about his role in the fake fertiliser scandal where he has been mentioned adversely. We are not going to allow this.
“Do we really have any business listening to you any longer?”