The national treasury has released 3.6 billion for the fertilizer subsidy program as promised by President William Ruto on the day he was inaugurated as the 5th President of Kenya. The subsidy is touted to reduce the cost of production for farmers as they look forward to utilizing the coming short rains.

Diammonium Phosphate  (DAP) currently retailing at KES 6500 will now retail at KES 3500, CAN used for topdressing which is currently retailing at an all time high of KES 6000 will now be available at KES2875.

Urea which has been costing farmers 7000 shillings per 50kg bag will now cost KES 3500, a 50% reduction. In addition, NPK and Sulphate of Ammonia will cost KES3, 275 and KES2, 220 respectively for a 50kg bag. These new prices were announced by the ministry of Agriculture through the acting Principal Secretary State Department for Crop Development & Agri. Research Mr Francis Owino.

Proponents of the subsidy program, with the president himself being the fiercest defender of the program believe that its the way to go as opposed to subsidizing on the consumer side. Speaking at the Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting, President Ruto pitched for the program while faulting his predecessor for spending billions on the Maize subsidy which never reached the common folk.

“We have reports that they spent 7 billion monthly for the maize subsidy but Kenyans never got the cheap unga.”  President William Ruto said as he explained how ineffective consumer subsidies are and why he is going slow on them in favor of subsidizing the production side.

The KES 3.6 billion subsidy is aimed at subsidizing 71,000 metric tons which translate to about 1.4 million bags which will be available at National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) outlets countrywide but this first batch will prioritize the areas which are expecting the start of the short rains. The ministry of Agriculture reports that with proper application of fertilizer, yields are potentially bound to increase by 50%

Detractors of the fertilizer subsidy term the program a scandal waiting to happen. They argue that we have had fertilizer subsidy programs since 2009 but it has never been effective as it is prone to infiltration by cartels who make a killing by importing the fertilizer at cheap prices and then sell to NCPB at very high margins to make a killing, sometimes payments are done without any fertilizer arriving at their stores.