Farmers can now breath a sigh of relief as the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is expecting bulk shipment of fertilizers.
According to a report on Capital FM, KPA will receive a shipments of fertilizers at the Port of Mombasa in the next two weeks.
The three-consignment are the HPC Sunrise which is set to arrive on January 22 and Nord Dubai and Bulk Traders which will arrive on January 25.
The arrival of the is a boost to farmers as they approach the planting season.
Speaking during Jamhuri Day celebrations, President William Ruto said the government will continue to subsidise the price of fertilizer and farmers will buy at Ksh 3,500 per bag.
He added that the government is working with the private sector, to import about 6 million bags of fertilizer.
“Let me also say that we intend to deliver our subsidy program on fertilizer on e – voucher that is going to be available to 1.3 million farmers
“And I want to encourage our farming community to register themselves because going forward our fertilizer subsidy program is going to be dispensed on the internet on e-voucher so that we can eliminate brokers and eliminate cartels and ensure that targeted farmers have access to fertilizer,” he stated.
Ruto noted that the government has made all the necessary interventions to ensure that fertilize is available to farmers and at an affordable price.
As earlier reported on WoK, Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries is set to build a 300-megawatt (MW) green ammonia and green fertilizer plant in Kenya by 2025.
Ruto said the fertilizer plant will be built under a partnership agreement between the Kenyan government and Fortescue.
The Head of State noted that the new development is part of his efforts to boost food production and combat food insecurity in the region.
The partnership was signed in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt; Forrest was present at the signing of the deal.
“The shift will help reduce our reliance on imports, reduce fertilizer costs, boost food production, and ultimately mitigate the risks posed by food insecurity,” Ruto said.
