Kenya has cut its fertilizer imports by about three-quarters ahead of this year’s main planting season, which has been marred by reports of fake inputs, official figures show, threatening to reverse the country’s gradual improvement in food security.
It is estimated that nearly 143,569.5 tons of chemical fertilizers were shipped into the country in the first three months of the year, down 66.27 percent compared to 425,675.20 tons in the corresponding period of 2023.
Data compiled by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed that spending on fertiliser imports fell by 69.82 per cent in the first quarter of the year to Sh9.69 billion from Sh32.10 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier.
This means that a tonne of fertilizer costs traders an average of Sh67,488 to import, a 10.51 percent decrease from the average of Sh75,411 the previous year.
Increased imports of agricultural inputs last year helped stabilize essential maize supplies, keeping prices fairly stable across most of the country. The fertilizer subsidy programme was at the top of President William Ruto’s agenda when he took office in September 2022 at a time when the country was grappling with record-high maize prices.
This is largely due to a severe drought, said to be the worst in four decades, in 2022, and disruptions to global supply chains following Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has sent global fertilizer prices soaring to record highs.
Measures taken by the government have helped reduce the price of a 50kg bag of subsidised fertiliser from Sh6,500 to Sh3,500 initially before dropping to its current level of Sh2,500.
“To support agricultural production, the government implemented a national farmer registration and fertilizer subsidy programme which made 5.5 million bags available to farmers across Kenya,” the Treasury wrote in its 2024 Budget Policy Statement.
“The government has also gradually reduced the cost of fertilizer from Sh6,500 to Sh2,500, increased maize area by up to 200,000 additional acres, and boosted maize production by up to 18 million additional bags.”