Farmers urged to collect subsidized fertilizer at cereals board depot

Chuka, Tuesday, May 23, 2023

KNA by Martin Munene

Tharaka Nithi County Government is calling upon its residents to shun talks of unfair distribution of the subsidized fertilizer from the national government, insisting that the exercise was going on in a transparent and accountable manner.

The County Director for Agriculture Nicholas Mokaya disclosed that there has been changes in the distribution system where all registered farmers have to collect their subsidized fertilizer from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot, unlike in the past where farmers would access the fertilizer from selected Agrovet stores.

“All that registered farmers are required to do is dial *707# to know the number of bags they are entitled to and they can collect at the NCPB depot in Mitheru after payment,” said Mokaya who was speaking to KNA in his office in Chuka town Monday.

Mokaya further explained that after dialing the said code, the farmers would receive a message with voucher numbers of the fertilizer bags they were set to receive. The message also indicates the requirement for them to pay Sh3,500 per every bag of 50kgs, strictly through m-pesa and receive an electronic receipt.

“The farmers ought to produce the message at the National Cereals and Produce Board depot to be able to collect the subsidized fertilizer,” he underscored.

The Agriculture officer revealed the total statistics of the various types of fertilizer disbursed as at May 22 which are, Micro planting (YARA) 2,320 bags, Kynoc Maizeic (ETG) 3,113 bags, NPK 17:17:17 (KNTC) 1,103 bags, NPK 23:23:23 (KNTC) 905 bags, YARA CAN 5,150 bags, ETG CAN 138 bags and 68 bags of Fomi Kuzia top dressing.

He further called on the farmers to take advantage and purchase the subsidized fertilizer, citing that it was affordable and accessible, reminding farmers that there was only one disbursement centre in the county, the National Cereals and Produce Board depot in Mitheru, Maara sub-county.

“Maize farmers received the first batch during phase one earlier this year and so far, the top dressing fertilizer is being disbursed. As a county, we are positive that we are expecting a bumper harvest of various crops grown across our sub-counties, ranging from maize, beans, green grams and other crops,” Mokaya stressed.

He further called on farmers in the county to plant at the right time in order to allow for government planning and interventions since they were registered afresh electronically in a programme launched by the government through the Ministry of Agriculture, in January this year.

Courtesy; K.N.A