Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi has flagged off the second consignment of fertiliser for Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) for farmers. 

Speaking at the Port of Mombasa Linturi confirmed that the consignment, totaling over 45,000 tones (900,000 bags) of fertiliser, will go a long way in helping tea farmers boost production.

The first consignment of 47,800 tonnes (956,000 bags) was received at the Port of Mombasa in October this year and has already been distributed to farmers in various parts of the country.

The cabinet secretary further affirmed that subsidized fertiliser has been availed across the various crop value chains including tea.

“Tea has been identified as one of the Value chains for exports under the grow exports pillar. This now means that the government in collaboration with all the stakeholders is committed to ensure that tea productivity is not only enhanced but also sustained and farmers will in return get value for their money,” stated Linturi.

Linturi acknowledged the challenging circumstances of its arrival attributing the delay to global conflicts. The CS hopes that with the introduction of 25 kg fertiliser bags, a departure from the traditional 50 kg is a game changer.

“I am delighted to note that this year; we have introduced packages for 25 kgs bag instead of the traditional 50kgs to ease the carrying of heavy weights while applying fertiliser in the farms,” he noted.

Furthermore, Linturi reassured that his Ministry is dedicated to ensuring smallholder farmers continue to access subsidized fertiliser, as well as shielding them from the high market prices.

“The Government, through my ministry is committed to ensuring that smallholder farmers continue to access subsidized fertiliser thus cushioning them against high prices that has characterized the market,” he said.

To further support the farmers, Linturi revealed that the second consignment will be delivered directly to nearby tea buying centres, eliminating the need for farmers to incur additional costs transporting fertiliser from factory stores to their farms. 

The first consignment, comprising 47,800 tones (956,000 bags) was received in October 2023 and has already been distributed to farmers.