Fake, Not Fake, Gov’t Politics and Doublespeak On Fertiliser Saga
As the fake fertiliser saga brews many questions remain unanswered as different agencies and the government labour to elucidate on the matter and defend the discovered anomalies.
The matter was brought to the fore by a documentary, “Fertile Deception” by African Uncensored, which exposed the widespread circulation of counterfeit government fertiliser across the country posing a risk to food security.
This came amid a series of seizures by authorities, which prompted Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi to refute claims of counterfeit state-issued subsidized fertiliser.
Linturi asserted that government fertilisers were scientifically tested and approved before circulation to Kenyan farmers.
What followed was a suspension of NPK 10:26:10 fertilisers manufactured by Ken Chemicals Limited by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) on grounds that it fell short of the required standards.
KEL Chemicals were next to get the axe as their fertilisers Kelphos Plus, Kelphos Gold and NPK 10:26:10 were found to not meet the required standards by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
Another manufacturer SBL Innovate Manufacturers Limited was also put under scrutiny as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) summoned its director Josiah Kimani Kariuki to answer queries over the fertiliser saga.
As farmers bear the brunt of the scandal, leaders led by President William Ruto have given contradicting pronouncements to the public which further throws more questions on the fertiliser fiasco.
It is not fake!
Linturi has maintained that there is no fake fertiliser and asserted his belief while appearing before the National Assembly Agriculture Committee on Monday.
“We do not have fertiliser that you would say is fake. What KEL failed is the standard set out in the Kenyan market that has a deficiency of plus or minus 3,” he said.
“Whatever figures you hear out there from anyone with the contempt that they deserve. The true position of the number of bags of fertiliser of the batch that did not meet the standard is 3,000 bags.”
That number is however of a much higher amount in Deputy Rigathi Gachagua’s recollection.
While meeting the Kenyan Diaspora in Kigali, Rwanda, Gachagua condemned the mallady noting Kenya “imported over 4 million bags so only 50,000 got a crooked supplier”.
Having a say in the fiasco, President Ruto told a congregation in West Pokot on Monday that he is aware of the fake fertilisers, vowing that appropriate action will be taken on those found culpable.
“There is one company called KEL…If there is any farmer who has bought the wrong fertiliser they should be compensated and get another one free of charge,” said Ruto.
“Every farmer will get the correct fertiliser and those few individuals who want to sabotage food production.”
The ‘black-and-white’ evidence
National Assembly Agriculture Committee chairperson John Kanyuithia has clarified that two companies in Kenya have landed fertilisers that do not meet the quality mark into the market – KEL Chemicals and SBL Innovate.
“The one by SBL Innovate is not a subsidy fertiliser it may be following the channel which the subsidy fertiliser is following but it is not a subsidy,” he said speaking to Citizen TV on Tuesday.
He added that the fertiliser was being sold as an organic fertiliser but the committee further learnt that it was also sold as a “conditioner”.
“A conditioner moderates the situation of the soil and not necessarily adding any nutritional value. Organic fertiliser comes in to try and modify the soil if it has a high leaching capacity and traps the water around the crop to help it to grow.”
What was initially presented for approval to KEBS, according to Kanyiuthia, was the organic fertiliser and it was granted the mark of quality.
SBL Innovate is further said to have then packaged, under the 51 Capital and Africa Diatomite Limited, diatomite to farmers through the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) system.
“That is fraudulence, diatomite does not have any sufficient nutritional value, it has very little organic matter and no major elements that are required. Even as a conditioner, it has a little bit of lime but it doesn’t have sufficient lime to bring up the PH to neutral. It is fake,” he noted.
For KEL Chemicals the three fertilisers that were banned from their production line were found to lack sufficient quantities of the needed elements in a fertiliser – Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium (NPK).
“When you see Kelphos, it is a Kel fertiliser that has phosphorous,” he said.
All farmers who purchased fake fertilisers have been advised to go to the NCPB outlets they acquired them from for compensation.
Meanwhile, further investigations are underway.
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