Kenya eyes local production of fertiliser to curb costs

Workers offloads D.A.P. fertilizer at Mitra shop in Kakamega on February 19, 2015. Farmers have urged the County government to supply fertilizers to farmers early enough before the start of long rains. By Benjamin Sakwa

Kenya plans to encourage local production and blending of fertilisers to help cut import costs and reduce subsidies to make the input affordable for poor farmers, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett has said.

Farming accounts for a quarter of the county’s annual economic output, but the high cost of fertilisers means farmers rely on subsidies or avoid using them, which hurts output. The government spent more than Sh16 billion ($159 million) to subsidise fertiliser in the last three years, Mr Bett said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali.