Kirinyaga farmers have a reason to smile following President William Ruto’s recent visit to Kirinyaga County, where he promised rice farmers an increment in the supply of subsidized fertilizer.
During his tour to the region last Saturday, the president directed the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to increase the supply of the commodity to local farmers before Wednesday this week, which was done yesterday.
Kirinyaga Senator Kamau Murango, who is also the chairman of the agricultural committee in the Senate toured the NCPB stores in Mwea and Sagana Tuesday, where he confirmed they had indeed received 1200 bags of subsidized fertilizer.
“This consignment has been supplied into our stores by the national government following President Ruto’s promise on Saturday and more bags will be supplied with time,” said the elated senator.
He called on Kirinyaga farmers to take advantage of the ongoing rains and follow the right process in acquiring the subsidized fertilizer to help them boost their productivity and make the country food secure.
“We are so happy as Kirinyaga farmers and as a leader, I thank the Kenya Kwanza government since they have heeded our call to give farmers subsidized fertilizer, especially at this time when maize farmers needed the commodity for top-dressing,” he said.
At the same time, he called on the county government to increase its allocation for road maintenance along rice farms, saying this will help farmers cut transport costs when getting their produce out of the farms.
Meanwhile, rice farmers from the Mwea irrigation scheme have hailed the government’s intervention, noting that initially fertilizer prices had skyrocketed to a point where many farmers had started giving up, but now their hopes have been rekindled.
“Since the government started giving subsidized fertilizer, I am one of those who have increased production, and I can testify that we are getting profit,” said John Muchiri, a farmer at the Mwea Irrigation scheme.