Tea farmers to receive Sh2.2b worth of fertiliser imports

More than half a million small-scale tea farmers will next week begin receive 63,500 metric tonnes of fertiliser worth Sh2.2 billion imported on their behalf by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (Management Services) Ltd from next week.

The ship carrying more than 31,000 metric tonnes was set to begin discharging its contents today (Thursday) at the port of Mombasa with the first consignment of the fertiliser with the second batch expected in August.

Farmers will however wait longer to know the final price per bag after all costs for the chemically compounded top dressing fertilisers are worked out . They will be distributed across KTDA’s network of 65 affiliate factories.

Farmers pay for the commodity in two installments deducted on check- off system monthly and the balance during the second (bonus) payment in October.

“The final cost of a 50kg bag of fertiliser will be determined once clearing and transport costs to respective tea factories across the country, as well as marine and overland insurance costs, have been factored in,” said KTDA chief executive officer Lerionka Tiampati.

The consignment was imported from Romania- following the award of an international tender earlier in the year. Last year, the price per 50kg bag was around Sh2,466 per 50kg bag on average, with slight variations in price per factory depending on their distance from the port.

Fertiliser application is crucial to better tea yield and leaf quality.