Stop dirty politics on free fertiliser

Food security remains one of the key challenges that Kenya faces despite the country having huge chunks of arable land. While it may be appreciated that water scarcity has been the key driver of food shortage in some parts of Eastern and North Eastern Kenya, there should be little or no excuses for perennial food shortage in Western, the country's grain basket where rainfall is usually ample.

Perhaps the recent hiccup that has stained food production in the region is the erratic and expensive farm inputs, particularly seeds and fertilisers.

It is however encouraging that the national and county governments have stepped in to ensure farmers get these inputs for free. Bungoma County is an excellent example where this strategy is thriving. In 2013, Governor Ken Lusaka distributed about 200 bags of free fertilisers to farmers in every ward.

In 2016, the amount went up to 400 bags, and this year, the county government is giving out 700 bags of fertilisers in each of its 45 wards. I urge politicians to stop criticising such developmental projects and instead join their peers in developing their regions.