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{
    "id": 1273077,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1273077/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 294,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development (",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Mithika Linturi): Hon. Speaker, I am aware that the market price of CAN fertilizer is relatively high at an average price of Ksh5,400 for a 50 kg bag. However, the price is now lower compared to the price of Ksh5,900 last year. The cost of top-dressing fertilizer CAN is high because the Government is not an importer of fertilizer. Finally, the price of the imported CAN fertilizer is influenced by the free-on-board price for its charges, clearing, loading and exchange rate fluctuations. Regarding Question two, the actual price of CAN top-dressing fertilizer is charged by the National Cereals and Produce Board - this is what I want to stress… The prices given are the prices out there in the market. Because of its commitment to support production and with the subsidy programme, the Government has been retailing fertilizer at Ksh2500 since yesterday. It has been going for Ksh3,500, but yesterday we started selling fertilizer at Ksh2,500. Yesterday alone, we made a sale of over 34,000 bags of fertilizer. Those farmers that are feeling the pain or the pinch are the ones that did not heed the Government's call to get registered as farmers. We have opened an exercise for registration of farmers again. I want to ask the farmers of this country to benefit from Government support by registering as farmers. This way, we will give them the support they require. They will access fertilizer at the least price that the Government is selling. On the measures that we are taking to prevent the skyrocketing fertilizer prices, up to now, I am not aware of any middlemen in this exercise who could be contributing to high prices. Resulting from the application of the e-voucher system, all the cartels within the fertilizer space have now disappeared. Even as we discuss, in most cases, fertilizer prices are determined by international prices, distribution costs and mark ups. One cannot determine or dictate how much profit a retailer or somebody not within our system is likely to make, depending on his operation costs. To reduce the costs and prevent the rising cost of fertilizer in the country for the benefit of the farmers that will not get registered, the subsidy programme is playing some role in ensuring that farmers are not highly exploited. Once the farmers are registered, and their data is uploaded into our e-voucher system, they will realize how important it is to access fertilizer. They will get serious benefits out of the subsidy programme that the Government is running. I thank you, Hon. Speaker."
}