Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde has called on farmers in the county to take advantage of the ongoing rains and subsidized fertilizer to plant huge acres of land.
Masinde said about 4,700 bags of Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium (NPK) fertilizer and 6,000 bags of Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) had been delivered at the National Cereal Produce and Board (NCPB) for farmers to purchase at a subsidized price.
He reiterated that 98,178 farmers had registered with the ongoing National Household Farmers Registration saying those who had registered stand a better chance of accessing the subsidized fertilizer.
“I urge those farmers who have not yet registered to do so immediately through their local sub-chiefs so as to enable the government to plan accordingly,” he said.
Masinde said the subsidized fertilizer is selling at Sh. 3,500 down from Sh. 6,500 hence called on farmers to increase their planting acreage so as to have more harvest.
He also called on residents to take advantage of the rains to plant trees on their farms so as to increase the forest cover and achieve the 15 billion trees in ten years.
Ben Mwanik, a cabbage, maize and wheat farmer at Melili area in Narok Central Sub County thanked the government for availing the fertilizer as many farmers had abandoned farming because of the increase in farm inputs.
Mwanik expressed confidence that there will be more production this year compared to the past years if the ongoing rains continue.
“With more production, the cost of living will go down because we will not need to import most of the food crops. I encourage every farmer to take advantage of the rains and plant their farms,” he reiterated.
Narok County is known for large production of wheat, maize, potatoes and vegetables that are produced on a large scale. However, in the recent past, many farmers had abandoned the practice because of the increase in farm input and preferred to venture in other businesses.
By Ann Salaton and Eunice Esho
