Farmers warm up to cheaper fertilizer as Sh120b plant nears completion

ELDORET, KENYA: Farmers in the North Rift will start purchasing fertilizer beginning this August after the completion of a fertilizer plant based in Eldoret.
The Sh120 billion plant at Ngeria area in Uasin Gishu County contracted by Toyota Tsusho Company is almost complete and is expected to begin producing 150,000 metric tons of fertilizer.
Speaking after inspecting the plant along with Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago, the company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Akira Wada expressed optimism that they will be able to begin operations in August.
"The construction process is going on well, we are currently finishing up with putting up the structures, we are glad that upon completion, farmers will be able to access fertilizer on time," he explained.
He noted that production equipment has already arrived from South Africa and currently at the port of Mombasa awaiting transportation.
Uasin Gishu CEC in charge of Agriculture Dr. Cyril Cheruiyot said farmers will be able to witness reduced market prices of the crucial commodity with an expected mass production.
"The fertilizer plant will not be used to manufacture the input but only act as a place to blend, its central establishment puts the Rift and the Western region at an edge for ease access of the input and increase productivity," he explained.
Cheruiyot also challenged farmers to constantly conduct soil testing so that they can ascertain its acidity and preferred fertilizer tailored specifically for their farms.