The government has asked small-scale tea farmers to double the application of fertilizers since the prices have been subsidized in a bid to increase harvests.
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) on Thursday received a second consignment of 45,000 metric tons (900,000 bags) of fertilizer for distribution to over 650,000 smallholder tea farmers across the country.
Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mithika Linturi who flagged off the shipment to upcountry said that farmers will get the fertilizer at tea buying centers by Monday.
Linturi said there is a direct correlation between the amount of fertilizer applied and the amount of yields.
He said the government has plans to increase harvests and reduce the cost of living by providing fertilizer to farmers across the country.
“By giving out fertilizer the government will help farmers increase productivity. We are asking farmers to take advantage of the government subsidy and buy enough fertilizer since a bag now goes for Sh.2500,” he said.
He noted that going by the current trade, farmers will be able to produce more kilos of green leaves and deliver more earnings.
He added that the government is currently working on tea reforms in which they will come up with legal policies and administrative mechanisms so that farmers get the best out of what they do.
“The government continually tries to support KTDA and farmers so that they get fertilizers at affordable prices. When we started the subsidy program to support our farmers, the 50kg bag was going for Sh.3500 last year and the government had to make sure it goes down as we are now selling fertilizer at Sh.2500,” he added.
The CS said in 2024 during the long and short rains period, the government will give out 7 million bags of fertilizer to farmers.
This he added is a way to give back and appreciate the goodwill of the farmers for coming up to support the government’s course of reducing the cost of living.
He said the Ministry concluded the evaluation of tender for the supply of other types of fertilizers for maize and potatoes promising that by mid-February next year there will be enough fertilizer for the second planting season.
“We are also working on a mechanism with the county governments to ensure the last mile delivery is achieved through our collaboration whereby we have told the governors to get warehouses and the ministry to provide the technical experts for the dispensation of fertilizer through the e-voucher system,” he added.
Linturi said that there are several programmes that the government has put in place towards adding value saying that all the value chains that they focused on are on course.
He said they have also agreed on working with relevant stakeholders to be able to provide resources to do common user facilities that will add value to the tea so that farmers can sell finished products.
He said the government is also prioritizing supporting KTDA and farmers’ factories to install processing lines that will be able to produce orthodox tea.
“Worldwide, orthodox tea is fetching high premium prices thus calling for investment on that line so that across the country there are many factories which will in turn translate to good pricing for tea farmers,” he said.
By Chari Suche
