THIKA, KENYA: The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has raised red flag over a racket in which subsidized government fertilizer was increasingly ending up in hands of unscrupulous businessmen.
NCPB Chairman Geoffrey Kin'gang'i said a lot of low-cost government fertilizer was ending up in the wrong hands at the expense of farmers who are the ones earmarked to benefit from the input.
Mr King'ang'i spoke over the weekend in Thika where about 4,000 sacks of government fertilizer were confiscated by detectives at a go-down in Ngoingwa Estate.
Some of the fertilizer impounded had already been repackaged for sale into sacks branded Falcon and Chapa Meli.
A detective told The Standard they were acting on a tip off from members of the public suspicious of activities at the enclosed go-down in the residential estate.
For the last one month, the government has lost over 10,000 bags of fertilizer to unscrupulous sellers who repackage and sell the commodity at double the rate that the government avails it to farmers.
Last week, government subsidised fertilizer worth over Sh6 million was recovered from a hideout in Nakuru town.
Two weeks ago, another 4,000 bags of subsidized DAP were impounded in Kitale where they were being repackaged while yet another consignment was discovered and impounded in Meru.
