Agriculture minister Sally Kosgei. Photo/LIZ MUTHONI - In2EastAfrica

The Government has dispelled fears that the stand-off over fertiliser being held at the port of Mombasa may lead to sharp decline in crop yield and expose Kenyans to hunger.

Both Agriculture minister, Dr Sally Kosgei and the MD of National Cereals and Produce Board, Dr Gideon Misoi said distribution of the fertiliser begins on Tuesday.

Agriculture minister Sally Kosgei. Photo/LIZ MUTHONI

At the centre of the crisis were business interests seeking to get the green light to import fertilisers as they battled over procurement procedures. The consignment was held following a dispute reported to the Public Procurement and Oversight Authority (PPOA) by a leading fertiliser dealer, Mea Limited.

Kosgei dispelled fears about the shortage and said the dispute had been resolved and come Tuesday, the fertiliser would be released.

?The matter has been resolved. We just couldn?t go against the law,? she said, adding that fertiliser was being sold in the market and that the consignment held at the port was part of that which is subsidised.

?There is and there will be enough fertiliser when the planting seasons begins in mid-March,? Kosgei said.

Misoi asked farmers and stakeholders to be patient as the verdict would be out on Tuesday. Assistant minister for Agriculture Kareke Mbiuki told The Standard that already, 60,000 metric tonnes had been procured and delivered to Mombasa.

Cartels

?As a ministry, we played our part and procured the fertilisers in good time. It is only some people involved in cartels who wanted to block NCPB from selling it to farmers,? Mbiuki said, adding that some businessmen who had been benefiting from the high cost of fertilisers were not happy that the Government had intervened and dismantled their cartels.

According to NCPB, the fertiliser at the port was imported on behalf of various farmers in the country. The fertiliser, which comprises two different types, is supposed to be sold for Sh2,500 and Sh1,600 per 50kg bag respectively.

On Sunday, Mea Limited Sales Director, Mr Daniel Ndegwa said they would not comment about the disputed consignment as this would jeorpadise the ruling.

?Since the matter is before the PPOA, we reserve our comment until Tuesday,? he said.

Various importers have embarked on importation of fertiliser although this is yet to make an impact on farmers. Last week, the Mv Crux shipped in about 30,000 metric tonnes. On March 13, Mv Thebes is expected to deliver 23,719 metric tonnes of fertiliser.

Tomorrow, two critical meetings are expected to break the import stalemate ? one by the PPOA and another by the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee when it grills top ministry of Agriculture officials over the deals.

A Kenya Sugar Board Director, Mr Saulo Busolo said the fertiliser crisis was compounded by a section of farmers who received subsidised packages while unscrupulous middlemen took the same to resell and make huge profits.

?We have demanded an audit of procurement of fertiliser and the price margins between wholesale and retail as well as the list of farmers who benefit from the subsidised packages.? Busolo said.

?I would not want to pre-empt issues the committee members will raise, but I can confirm to you that we are meeting on Tuesday,? the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee chairman John Mututho said.

Mututho said the issue was a serious one as it would negatively affect food security in the country, leading to high inflation.

Mr Kipkorir Menjo, a director with the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA), urged the Government to expeditiously sort out the mess to protect farmers from incurring huge losses.

?Food security in the country will be a major challenge this year if subsidised fertilisers is not availed to farmers who have already prepared their lands for planting,? Menjo said.

Rake in billions

Mr Silas Tiren, a large-scale farmer in the North Rift region, claimed that a cartel of well-connected business people wanted to cash in by ensuring there would be no fertiliser during the planting season. ?Those involved are out to ensure that farmers do not plant at this crucial season so that in few months, they rake in billions of shillings from importing maize and wheat,? Tiren said.

But amid cries of a shortage, taxpayers are repaying billions of shillings towards a non-existent Ken-Ren fertiliser company debt. By 2015, they will have repaid Sh5.1 billion to a fake project that never took off.

The Ken-Ren fertiliser factory was a joint venture entered into in the mid-1970s between the Government and a now bankrupt America firm known as N-REN Corporation, to form a local company registered as Ken-Ren Chemical and Fertiliser Company at Changamwe, Mombasa, to manufacture fertiliser for domestic use and export.

It was to be located near Kenya?s oil refinery and would use the refinery by-products to manufacture fertiliser. But the deal turned sour when the American partners turned out to be frauds. However, an original loan of Sh350 million has attracted huge interest rates yet there is nothing on the ground to justify payments.

On Sunday, Mwalimu Mati the Chief Executive Officer of Mars Group Kenya, faulted the Ken-Ren fiasco as part of an economic sabotage price Kenya was paying for.

?Kenyan taxpayers will pay 14 times the value of the project and received nothing. Without the factory, Kenya continues to import 500,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser annually,? Mati said.

Source The Standard

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Source: http://in2eastafrica.net/kosgei-dispels-fears-of-fertiliser-shortage/

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