NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 24 – The Government has announced fresh subsidies on fertilizer and certified maize seed to help farmers recover from drought losses and resume production.
Under the new programme, a 50-kilogramme bag of subsidised fertilizer will retail at Sh2,000, down from Sh2,500.
The Government will also cover half the cost of certified maize seed, reducing the price from Sh300 to Sh150 per kilogramme.
This means a two-kilogramme pack will now cost Sh300, down from Sh600, while a 10-kilogramme pack will retail at Sh1,500 instead of Sh3,000.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe says the maize seed subsidy will cover about 40 million kilogrammes at an estimated government cost of Sh6 billion.
He says the measures are aimed at reducing production costs, protecting gains in agricultural output and strengthening food security amid drought and changing weather patterns.
Since 2022, the government says about 33.55 million 50-kilogramme bags of subsidised fertilizer have been distributed to nearly 1.98 million farmers.
