KTDA to distribute Sh2.6bn worth of fertiliser to farmers
A woman picks tea leaves in Gathehu Village in Nyeri County. The Kenya Tea Development Agency is set to distribute Sh2.6 billion worth of fertiliser to tea farmers across the country. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
More than 600, 000 tea farmers affiliated to the agency will pay Sh237 more for the NPK fertiliser which is currently going for Sh1, 730 per 50 kg bag compared to Sh1, 493 last year.
Kenya Tea Development Agency has imported 76, 153 metric tonnes of fertiliser worth Sh2.6 billion for distribution to small scale tea farmers countrywide.
More than 600, 000 tea farmers affiliated to the agency will pay Sh237 more for the NPK fertiliser which is currently going for Sh1, 730 per 50 kg bag compared to Sh1, 493 last year.
According to the agency, the price hike was influenced by an increase in tender price which rose from $214 last year to $252 this year per metric tonnes.
“The increase is mainly due to change in crude oil prices from Sh3, 734 (USD 37.34) to Sh5, 090 (USD 50.90) this year leading to higher cost of fertilizer production,” the agency said in an advert in the local dailies.
The fertiliser is set to be distributed through all the 64 KTDA-managed tea factories in the country.
At the market price, a similar bag of fertiliser is selling at Sh2, 700 which is 56 per cent higher than the KTDA price.
The final prices of the fertilizer to the farmers includes costs such as clearing and forwarding, financing, handling, port charges and transportation.
The quantity of fertilizer a farmer receives depends on the number of tea bushes he owns.
Averagely, a 50 kilogramme of fertiliser is applied to 700 bushes.
This year, tea farmers produce 977 million kilogrammes of the crop compared to 1.2 billion kilos realized last year.
The crop decline was attributed to severe drought experienced across the tea growing zones.
