KTDA announces refund date of fertilizer suspense to smallholder farmers

By Robert Mutasi 

KTDA has confirmed the refund of fertilizer suspense to be made together with Green Leaf payments to smallholder tea farmers in the country by January 5, 2025.

The move is aimed at cushioning farmers from financial constraint as it ensures a constant supply of vital agricultural inputs.

KTDA, which has been instrumental in providing support to tea farmers across the country, had placed an order for 96,988 MT of fertilizer for this year. 

The agency explained that the last consignment of 8,000 MT will be released to farmers by the first week of December, with arrangements for confirming the quantity needed earlier in December. 

This move aims to meet the supply requirements in advance of the planting season, with farmers being adequately equipped to increase their yields.

Notably, this year's cost for a 50-kilogram bag of NPK, a chemically compounded fertilizer, has been set at 3,400 Kenyan Shillings (Ksh), determined through a competitive bidding process. 

This transparency in procurement aims to ensure farmers receive quality products at a fair price.

The government of Kenya has also played a major role in this project. In November 2024, it provided a subsidy of Ksh 2 billion that was to see the price of fertilizer drop from Ksh 3,500 to Ksh 2,500 per bag.

This financial support is an assurance of the government's commitment to improving the livelihoods of tea farmers amid various economic challenges. 

The authorities' hope, through targeted subsidies, is to ease the cost burden associated with such essential inputs, hence allowing farmers to increase their yields.

The KTDA was thankful for the government's continued support through offsetting fertilizer costs and improving the payment returns for the tea growers. 

This cooperation is likely to create a more favorable farming environment that will help smallholder farmers to prosper in the competitive tea industry.

This refund comes as a welcome relief for farmers who have struggled financially in the past few years due to unstable market conditions and an increase in the cost of inputs. 

The partnership by KTDA and the Kenyan government underpins a shared resolve to make the tea sector resilient, which is quite cardinal in the agricultural economy of the country.