NCPB seeks funds to transport fertilizer

By Willis Oketch

Farmers in Rift Valley and western Kenya will not access fertiliser in time for the planting season.

This follows reports that Rift Valley Railway (RVR) management has refused to release its wagons to the NCPB unless it pays cash.

RVR chairman Brown Ondego confirmed the company was not ready to release its wagons to NCPB until they pay cash for cargo transport.

Investigations have revealed that 550,000 bags of DAP fertiliser, which docked at Mombasa port in February are still lying at National Cereals and Produce Board go downs at Shimanzi and Changamwe.

NCPB has only managed to transport 100,000 bags to Eldoret.

However, NCPB Managing Director Gedion Misoi says the problem was caused by late release of funds by the Treasury.

Farmers in Nyanza and Western Province, where the long rains has started, are buying the commodity at Sh4,000 per bag up from Sh2,000.

Ondego said RVR management has decided that it will give services on cash basis as opposed to last year when they transported the cargo on credit.

"Just imagine we transported for the corporation the cargo on credit but instead of paying us in time they only paid last month when they already had another cargo," said Ondego. He dismissed claims that RVR was giving wheat imported by Uganda first priority and said they had paid cash

"Let them pay cash before making any complaint because we are not a bank which gives credit to individuals", he said.

"We are only charging them Sh5,582 per tonne, which is very cheap compared to others using the railway," said Ondego. Records at the port show that MV Crux docked at Mombasa port with over 27,000 tones of DAT fertiliser from Ukraine in mid February.