Government Slashes Fertilizer, Maize Seed Prices to Cushion Farmers from Drought
Maize Plantation. (Photo/ Courtesy)
By The COAST Reporter
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
The government has cut the price of subsidized fertilizer to Ksh2,000 per 50kg bag and halved the price of certified maize seed to cushion farmers from drought losses.
Agriculture cabinet secretary Mutahi Kagwe in a press release on August 24, 2026, said the price of a 50kg bag of fertilizer has been reduced from Ksh2,500 to Ksh2,000.
He said the government will meet 50 per cent of the cost of certified maize seed, bringing down the price for farmers from Ksh300 to Ksh150 per kilogramme.
This means a 2kg pack will cost Ksh300 down from Ksh600, a 10kg pack Ksh1,500 down from Ksh3,000 and a 25kg pack Ksh3,750 down from Ksh7,500.
The intervention targets about 40 million kilogrammes of seed at an estimated cost of Ksh6 billion in subsidy.
Farmers will access the subsidized inputs through government-designated distribution channels.
Kagwe said the move is part of President William Ruto’s shift from subsidizing consumption to subsidizing production to lower the cost of farm inputs and boost food security.
He noted that in 2022 a 50kg bag of fertilizer retailed at Ksh7,500 before the National Fertilizer Subsidy Programme brought it down to Ksh2,500 and now to Ksh2,000 – a reduction of more than 73 per cent.
Since 2022, about 33.55 million bags have been distributed to 1.98 million farmers at a cost of Ksh78.79 billion, he said.
Kagwe said maize production has increased from 34.3 million 90kg bags in 2022 to 73 million bags in 2025, while maize imports have declined by more than 66.5 per cent, gains he said must not 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 fertilizer and seed are beyond reach,” Kagwe said.
He said the government will continue supporting farmers to recover from drought and invest in irrigation, water harvesting and other climate-smart interventions.
