The government has reduced the price of subsidized fertilizer to Sh2,000 per 50-kilogramme bag and halved the cost of certified maize seed as part of fresh measures aimed at helping farmers recover from drought-related losses.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development said on Monday that the price of subsidized fertilizer will fall from Sh2,500, while the government will meet 50 per cent of the cost of certified maize seed.

Under the new arrangement, farmers will buy maize seed at Sh150 per kilogramme, down from Sh300.

A two-kilogramme packet will cost Sh300 instead of Sh600, while a 10kg packet will retail at Sh1,500, down from Sh3,000. A 25kg packet will cost Sh3,750 instead of Sh7,500.

The maize seed subsidy will cover an estimated 40 million kilogrammes of seed at a projected government cost of Sh6 billion.

Farmers will access both fertilizer and maize seed through government-designated distribution channels.

The ministry said the intervention is intended to ensure farmers who suffered crop losses during drought are able to plant again without being locked out by high input costs.

“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 fertilizer and seed are beyond reach,” the ministry said.

The latest reduction means the price of a 50kg bag of fertiliser has fallen by more than 73 per cent compared with 2022, when it retailed at about Sh7,500.

Through the National Fertilizer Subsidy Programme, the government initially reduced the price to Sh2,500 before the latest cut to Sh2,000.

According to the ministry, about 33.55 million 50kg bags of subsidized fertilizer have been distributed since 2022, reaching approximately 1.98 million farmers. Government support under the programme is estimated at Sh78.79 billion.

The State also linked the fertilizer subsidy programme to increased maize production in recent years.

Maize output rose from 34.3 million 90kg bags in 2022 to 73 million bags in 2025, while maize imports declined by more than 66.5 per cent over the same period, according to government figures.

“These gains cannot be allowed to be reversed by drought,” the ministry said.

The government said the subsidies form part of President William Ruto’s policy of lowering production costs rather than subsidizing consumption, with the aim of boosting agricultural output and strengthening food security.

It said further investment will also be directed towards irrigation, water harvesting and other climate-smart agricultural interventions to protect farmers against increasingly unpredictable weather.

“The Government will continue supporting farmers to recover from drought, lower their cost of production and return to their farms,” the ministry said.

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