REVEALED: Gov’t Clarifies Why Donated Russian Fertilizer Was ‘Sold’ To Farmers
The government has clarified rumors concerning the Russian government’s intention to sell fertiliser provided to farmers during the Russia-Africa Summit in August 2023.
This comes after impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accused the administration of selling farm input designated for farmer donations.
“The Russian government gave us 40,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser but the government blended and sold the donated fertiliser from Russia, which was processed and sold to Kenyans,” he said.
“The fertiliser that came from Russia, which was to be given free of charge, was sold to farmers.”
Former DP Rigathi Gachagua claims that fertilizer donated by Russia was given to Maisha Millers and Devki, repackaged, and sold back to the government at market prices. The same fertilizer was sold to farmers instead of giving them free of charge. pic.twitter.com/IeFE6D8ejm
— Kenya's Update (@keit65019) April 8, 2025
According to Gachagua, Russian fertilizer was donated to Kenya, repackaged, and then sold to Kenyan farmers at exorbitant costs.
“These donations were handed to some companies and then resold to the government at market rates, pocketing billions,” he said.
The administration admits to receiving 33,835 metric tons (about 676,700 50 kilogram bags) of fertiliser raw ingredients from the Russian government.
The fertilizer source ingredients included Potash Murate, Urea 46%N, and NPK 27:6:6:2S.
However, according to the authorities, the donated fertilizer raw materials were in forms that farmers could not apply directly to their crops.
The government claims that this necessitated the blending and granulation of crop-specific fertilisers to cover multiple value chains.
“It became prudent to blend the fertiliser raw materials into crop-specific blends to turn the fertiliser into forms that could be used directly by farmers, increase the quantity and fertiliser varieties suitable for various crop value chains to cover various crops grown nationally, including tea, rice, maize, and horticultural crops,” the statement reads in part.
According to the government, the measure boosted the number of farmers who benefited from the donation while also ensuring the sustainability of soil health.
According to the statement, 103,350 metric tonnes (2.068,994 of 50kg bags) of blended crop-specific fertiliser types were produced and distributed to farmers under the National Fertilizer Subsidy Programme (NFSP) from the donated fertiliser raw material.
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Local fertiliser manufacturers were encouraged to bid on blending and granulating the donated raw materials into crop-specific, ready-to-use fertilisers.
Additional raw materials and micronutrients were added to the crop-specific fertiliser during the blending, granulation, and shipping to NCPB depots, and the blending firm was compensated for this expenditure.
According to a government announcement, Maisha Minerals and Fertilizers Limited was chosen through a competitive procurement process to blend and distribute fertilizer under the Fertiliser Subsidy programme.
More than 34,000 tonnes of fertilizer donated to Kenya by the Russian Uralchem-Uralkali Group are now being reformulated to produce 100,200 tonnes of fertilizer. This will help Kenya a lot to get a good harvest this year. pic.twitter.com/Dt9mUtd6Jc
— Russian Embassy in Kenya/Посольство России в Кении (@russembkenya) August 3, 2023
According to the state, all 2.07 million 50 kg bags of blended discounted fertiliser were supplied to registered farmers across the country through the National Fertilizer Subsidy Programme.
REVEALED: Gov’t Clarifies Why Donated Russian Fertilizer Was ‘Sold’ To Farmers
