Kisumu farmers have asked the county and national government to provide subsidized fertilizers so that they can access them at cheaper prices.
The farmers say the current price of fertilizers is very expensive and most of them cannot afford it.
The residents noted that the cost of production is high causing low income for the farmers.
“We plead with the national and county government to provide us with subsidized fertilizers prices. The current fertilizers prices is very high making farming very expensive with little returns,” Millicent Ohon said.
The team further noted that the government should encourage them to be productive in their farms by subsidizing inputs for farmers.
“We provide food security in the region and I believe we play a very important role in the community. We want the county government to enable us benefit from subsidized fertilizers like other counties such as Uasin-Gishu county,” Leonard Odour opined.
The farmers say they are now buying a kilogram of fertilizer at Sh120 which is very high.
“This is the planting season due to the rains we have experienced and the costs of fertilizers have shot high up. One mill of fertilizer now goes for up to Sh120 which is very expensive,” Daniel Wesson explained.
Other farmers complained that they could not access the important commodity as it was supplied in small quantities.
“The government brings very little fertilizers that cannot serve a good portion of the farmers and most of them are left to be exploited by middle men and brokers.To get this subsidized fertilizers one has to go through a lot of processes and in most cases you end up missing it,” Stella Opiyo narrated.