Farmers across the North Rift are spending nearly double the government price to buy fertiliser from private dealers, as conflict in the Middle East disrupts global supply chains at the worst possible moment of the planting calendar.
Calcium Ammonium Nitrate under the government subsidy programme is meant to retail at Sh1,950 per 90kg bag, but remains unavailable in many NCPB depots, leaving farmers to rely on private dealers charging about Sh2,800 per bag. Without subsidy, a 50kg bag of planting fertiliser now retails at between Sh6,000 and Sh6,500. Top-dressing fertiliser through private agrovets ranges from Sh4,500 to Sh4,700.
