By Peter Ochieng
Farmers in some parts of the country are calling for immediate recall of fertiliser from the market, over fears that it may be fake.
This is after police recently seized hundreds of bags of fake fertilizer and uncertified seeds, distributed in some parts of the country.
Farmers in parts of North Rift Valley are calling for the immediate recall and testing of the fertiliser, purchased from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots in the area, suspecting it maybe counterfeit.
In Nandi County, farmers are yet to begin planting over fears of using fake fertiliser. John Kiprotich, a farmer in the area said he purchased fertiliser from NCPB, only to discover that it was fake.
“Niliiona kwa TV Saturday nikaona ikionyeshwa ni mfuko same na ile iletwa Selia nikasema maajabu wacha nifungue niangalie sasa ikakua ingine manure iko ndani, mawe iko ndani imechanganya na top soil kidogo kidogo sasa sijui,” he told Citizen TV.
This translates to, “I saw on TV on Saturday a similar bag to the one brought to us in Selia. When I opened it, I discovered it had some manure and stones mixed with top soil.”
Esther Kuku, said, “Urudishe saa hii alafu utupatie sisi mbolea ambayo ni mzuri sasa kusema njaa nafukuza sasa tafukuzaje kama hii mbolea mbaya (Return it now and give us quality fertiliser. You say you want to end hunger in this country, how do you do that with fake fertiliser?).”
On Wednesday last week, President William warned manufacturers and distributors of fake farm inputs, adding that those found culpable will face the ‘music’.
“We are going to make sure that those who sell fake seeds and fake fertiliser face the music that they deserve,” President Ruto warned.
He spoke a day after detectives in Kakamega County impounded 700 bags of fertiliser that farmers said was fake, as it was mixed with stones.