President William Ruto on Monday, April 8 made an impromptu visit to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Speaking during the unannounced visit, the President directed the NCPB management to accelerate the distribution of subsidized fertilizer across the country.
President Ruto explained that he is committed to ensuring enough food production to support more livelihoods.
At the same time, the Head of State issued a stern warning to individuals behind the sale of the fake fertilizers saying they would be arrested and prosecuted.
“We will deal with fraudsters trying to undermine our food production program by selling fake fertilizer,” said Ruto.
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The President also noted that he will keep pushing for the reduction of fertilizer prices to make farming more profitable.
“And we do not want to confine this to maize cultivation. We are broadening our range of crops so that our earnings can go up,’” Ruto added.
His visit comes after the government suspended eight Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) officials accused of issuing certification and marks of quality to two companies that have been linked to the sub-standard fertilizer.
Other officials believed to have played a part in the saga have also been lined up for questioning as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives struggle to get at the bottom of the matter.
On Friday, Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi ordered the suspension and seizure of Kelphos Plus, Kelphos gold, and NPK 10:26:10 fertilizers saying they did not meet all required test parameters.
“Following the release of test results by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the government has taken decisive action to safeguard the agricultural sector and farmers by announcing the immediate suspension of KEL Chemicals’ operations and seizure of its fertilizer products,” CS Linturi stated.
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