Access to affordable and quality fertiliser and other inputs has been a perennial problem for farmers toiling to feed the country. NCPB ran into trouble as cartels seized almost all its operations and early this year, the government was forced to suspend the subsidised fertiliser programme. “The NCPB had been completely overrun and could not manage the fertiliser subsidies programme to benefit the farmers as envisioned, so government intervention was needed," Kenya Farmers Association director Kipkorir Menjo says. The farmers in Rift Valley require more than six million bags of planting fertiliser and another three million bags for top dressing every year. Last year, maize production dropped to about 34 million bags from about 44 million bags previously.

Source: The Star May 28, 2020 18:56 UTC