Nairobi — The Ministry of Agriculture has dismissed assertions that consignments of fake fertilizers are being distributed under the government subsidy program saying the docket has only flagged substandard fertilizer.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi stated that all distributed fertilizers met quality standards except those produced and distributed by KEL Chemicals under the brands Kelphos Plus, Kelphos Gold, and NPK 10:26:10.
Linturi who appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Agriculture explained that among the 12 companies that were awarded the tender to supply the government fertilizer, one fell short of the requirements.
"Within our distribution network we don't have a fertilizer that's fake. What they have failed is the standard of the fertilizer which is + or -3.The problem can be corrected in the second phase of application," he said.
He however assured that recourse measure have been undertaken as only 3,000 bags of the fertilizer distributed under KEL Chemicals failed on the necessary parameters.
"We can trace the farmers who used the product and to know where the fertilizer was delivered. We are ready to do the follow up and also recalled the product," Linturi stated.
"Our appeal to farmers is to return these fertilizer or we can advise them the recourse measure in the next application which is top dressing," he added.
The Agriculture Cabinet Secretary called for prosecution of the owners of SBL Innovate Manufacturers for distributing fake fertilizers to farmers through the National Cereal Produce Board (NCPB) infrastructure network.
Linturi told MPs NCPB entered into a contract with SBL Innovate Manufacturers to supply the farming product he described as 'soil conditioner' for commercial interest as the agency doesn't receive funding from the exchequer.
He expressed that the Kenyan based merchant belongs to jail for hoodwinking KEBS, NCPB as well as taking advantage of farmers for selling fake fertilizer.
"Once you are caught pants down you must own up. The manufacturers having obtained the relevant certification from KEBS failed to be honest enough to avail the product in the market. This criminal, theft and this person belong to jail," Linturi stated.
This is even as it emerged that SBL Innovate sold 70,142 bags of fake fertilizer through NCPB which upon surveillance was found to be diatomite mineral from Kariandusi.
The Agriculture CS emphasized that the scope of unveiling the truth on the fake fertilizer scandal now belongs to the investigative agencies to ensure SBL Manufacturers Innovate owners are brought to book.
"We have unscrupulous people who don't want to conform to standards and give supply for certified products. This shouldn't be confused to be government fertilizer subsidy and cause panic among farmers," Linturi insisted.
Linturi insinuated that the fertilizer scandal having emerged days ahead of the planting season could potentially be linked to cartels that include maize importers and disgruntled fertilizer merchant who were unsuccessful in the fertilizer distribution bid.
"We can't rule out all these things unless proper investigations are done to ascertain the truth on what is flying out there," he noted.
Agriculture Committee Chair John Mutunga questioned why NCPB denied KEBS permit to gain access to their stores asking whether there was a collusion between SBL Innovate and NCPB to distribute the fake product.
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"KEBS are on record of having gone to NCPB to pick samples and they were denied access on the basis that they were not official enough to pick the samples," he said.
NCPB CEO Joseph Kimote refuted claims by Kenya Bureau of Standards that NCPB denied them access to their stores during their surveillance after receiving a tip on fake fertilizer from the media.
Kimote told MPs he only received information on SBL Innovate fertilizer being recalled from the market from the company through a letter last month.
"This is not something that should have happened if we were diligent enough. I have been rough on this character called Namu because I wasn't sure what he was talking about,"the Agriculture CS stated.
