- fertiliser price drops to Ksh2,000 per 50kg bag
- Certified maize seed costs cut by half
- Government targets farmers hit by drought losses
The Government has slashed the price of fertiliser to Ksh 2,000 per 50kg bag and halved the cost of certified maize seed to cushion farmers from drought-related losses.
Under the new intervention, farmers will purchase subsidised fertiliser at Ksh 2,000, down from Ksh 2,500, while the Government will meet 50 per cent of the cost of certified maize seed, reducing the farmer’s price from Ksh 300 to Ksh 150 per kilogramme.
This means a 2kg pack of maize seed will cost Ksh 300 instead of Ksh 600; a 10kg pack Ksh 1,500 instead of Ksh 3,000; and a 25kg pack Ksh 3,750 instead of Ksh 7,500.
The maize seed intervention targets approximately 40 million kilogrammes, translating to an estimated Ksh 6 billion in Government subsidy. Farmers will access the subsidised fertiliser and maize seed through Government-designated distribution channels.
Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe, in a press statement dated August 24, said the measures are part of President William Samoei Ruto’s administration’s shift from subsidising consumption to subsidising production by lowering the cost of inputs, supporting farmers to produce more and strengthening national food security.
In 2022, a 50kg bag of fertiliser retailed at approximately Ksh 7,500. The National fertiliser Subsidy Programme brought this down to Ksh 2,500 and the Government is now reducing it further to Ksh 2,000, a reduction of more than 73 per cent.
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Since 2022, approximately 33.55 million 50kg bags of subsidised fertiliser have been distributed, reaching about 1.98 million farmers, with Government support amounting to approximately Ksh 78.79 billion.
Over the same period, Kenya has recorded significant gains in agricultural production. Maize production increased from 34.3 million 90-kilogram bags in 2022 to 73 million bags in 2025, while maize imports declined by more than 66.5 per cent over the same period.
Kagwe said these gains cannot be allowed to be reversed by drought.
“At the heart of this intervention is a simple principle: a farmer who has lost a crop to drought must not also lose the ability to plant the next crop because fertiliser and seed are beyond reach,” he said.
The CS said the Government will continue supporting farmers to recover from drought, lower their cost of production and return to their farms, while investing in irrigation, water harvesting and other climate-smart interventions to strengthen Kenya’s resilience to changing weather patterns.
By Benedict Aoya
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