Farmers to get cheap fertiliser from next month

Mwangi Kiunjuri, Cabinet Secretary Ministry for Agriculture (left) with Dr. Peter Cherutich, Head Department of Preventive and Promotive Health and Heather Schildge, Deputy Mission Director USAID Kenya and East Africa during the launch Agri nutrition Community dialogue cards, food Composition Tables and Recipe Book during a three day conference dubbed accelerating Nutritional gains through Agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya School of Government. [Photo: Standard]

Farmers will start receiving the much-awaited subsidised fertiliser early next month, the Government has said.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said yesterday the systems were in place for the distribution to begin ahead of the short rains.

“We have heard the cry from farmers about the subsidised fertiliser programme and I want to assure them that they will get the fertiliser without experiencing difficulty from any state agency,” said Mr Kiunjuri at the opening of the Agri-Nutrition Conference in Nairobi.

Farmers have expressed concern that the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) had not been able to procure the subsidised fertiliser on time.

The Government has projected increased maize production in the country this year on improved weather conditions compared to last year. The CS at the same time announced that maize yields in the country were expected to rise from 40 million bags to 46 million bags this year.

“The weather this year favoured our farmers and that is why our maize yield will be higher by six million bags than what we harvested last year,” said the CS.

He also said the Government had started talks with maize millers to keep the cost of maize flour down despite the high taxation measures proposed by the State.

USAid Deputy Mission Director Heather Schildge said the agency would give an additional $40 million (Sh4.03 billion) to the Feed the Future Programme in Kenya.

 “They intend to prosecute my clients on 10th despite the orders from this court. Everything is tainted. It’s being manipulated by the interested party (Britam). It’s being used to intimidate us,” said Mr Amoko.

“The respondents investigating the issue are abusing their statutory powers at the behest of the interested party. No officer acting consciously would take that action as there is no basis of criminally charging the ex parte applicants.”

The DPP said he had already made a decision to have the four charged, but asked the court to dismiss the new application, saying they were initially challenging arrest and not prosecution.

“That suit was never challenging prosecution, no wonder DPP is not party to it. The suit was complaining about police actions. They are assuming that you gave orders stopping prosecution. If it would have been an issue, the DPP would have been a party,” argued Senior Principal Prosecution Counsel Fredrick Ashimosi.

He said that the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett and Directorate of Criminal Investigation Ndegwa Muhoro had no powers to prosecute anyone as had been alleged by the now Cytton Investment directors.

Brtiam through lawyer Fred Ngatia argued that the orders sought would “issue immunity against prosecution.”

He asked the court to allow the criminal justice system to take effect since the same court had already made a finding over the same issue.