By D, KNA
Farmers in Kirinyaga County have been advised to collect subsidized fertilizer currently available at National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores, even as the government continues to support agricultural productivity across the region.
Speaking at the Sagana depot, Titus Maiyo, the Head of Corporate Communications at NCPB, thanked Kirinyaga farmers for making good use of last year’s subsidy program, where they collected164,000 bags of fertilizer.
He revealed that this year, the County has so far received 46,000 bags, out of which 31,000 bags have already been issued to farmers.
“There are still 15,000 bags in our stores ready for collection. More subsidized fertilizer is on the way, including supplies for both planting and top dressing,” Maiyo assured, as he challenged farmers to go for the farm input to boost agricultural production.
He acknowledged that some farmers had experienced delays in accessing fertilizer due to recent demonstrations, during which NCPB offices were vandalized, and some critical office equipment and documents destroyed.
However, he assured the farmers services have resumed fully.
Maiyo also urged farmers not to focus too much on the branding of the fertilizer bags, noting that while packaging might vary, the quality remains high.”
The fertilizer we have at NCPB stores is of the best quality, and we guarantee it will give farmers excellent results,” he claimed.
Maiyo explained that NCPB is working closely with the County Government to ensure more satellite centers are fully operational.
“In Kirinyaga, we have 11 centers, but only 5 are currently serving farmers. We are working to ensure the remaining centers are opened soon,” he noted.
One of the beneficiaries, Meshack Maina, a rice farmer from Mwea, said he had successfully received his subsidized fertilizer allocation of15 bags for planting and 10 for top dressing.
“This fertilizer will help me save a lot of money. The money I save, I’ll use it for other agricultural activities. I encourage fellow farmers to take full advantage of this opportunity,” Maina said.
Sammy Njenga said that the fertilizer is available, but they are experiencing some challenges like some fertilizers missing in the system, but it was there in the stores.
He urged the NCPB attendants to ensure once the fertilizer is stocked in the stores, they update it on their system to ensure no farmer go back without it.
He also requested that the fertilizer be distributed to centers near to famers for the latter to access it with ease.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Florence Wanjiku and Joseph Muriuki, who also called on government officials at the NCPB to ensure all details of the fertilizers they have has been updated to the systems to ensure farmers don’t go home empty handed, whereas the fertilizers are in the stores.
As planting season approaches, the government’s fertilizer subsidy program continues to play a key role in supporting food security and reducing production costs for farmers across the country.