From Sh6,500 to Sh2,500, what cheaper fertiliser means for farmers in Mt Kenya

For a farmer preparing a new season, the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of fertiliser can make the difference between planting enough acreage and cutting back on production.

In Mt Kenya, where coffee, tea, dairy and food crops support thousands of households, the sharp fall in fertiliser prices has changed one of the biggest calculations farmers make every planting season.

A bag that cost about Sh6,500 in 2022 was initially offered at a subsidised Sh3,500 after President William Ruto took office, before the price was reduced further to Sh2,500 in 2023.

The government has since announced another reduction, with the subsidised 50kg bag set to retail at Sh2,000 from September 2026.

For farmers, the question is not simply how much cheaper fertiliser has become. It is what that saving means once the money reaches the farm.

When President Ruto announced the fertiliser intervention in September 2022, the government said its goal was to reduce production costs and make farming more viable.

The programme has since expanded considerably. Government figures cited in a recent review show that more than 32 million bags of fertiliser had been distributed across four seasons, reaching millions of farming households.

For farmers such as Simon Mungei, a coffee farmer, the difference is easy to calculate.

Simon says a 50kg bag that previously cost him about Sh6,500 now costs around Sh2,500 under the subsidised programme. In practical terms, money that once bought one bag can now buy two.

He says the lower cost has helped him reduce his production expenses across coffee and maize farming.

For him, cheaper fertiliser has meant that more of what he earns from farming can remain available after meeting production costs.

The benefit is not only coming from lower input prices.

Simon says coffee payments that were previously around Sh40 to Sh50 have risen to between Sh100 and Sh130. When higher payments are combined with cheaper fertiliser, the difference becomes more significant for the farmer.

That is particularly important in a region where coffee remains a major source of household income.

Government reforms in the coffee and tea sectors are also aimed at improving transparency, strengthening farmer organisations, reducing unnecessary intermediaries and ensuring farmers receive a greater share of the value generated by their produce.

The broader goal is straightforward: if farmers are producing a valuable crop, more of that value should reach them.

The impact of cheaper inputs can also be seen in national production figures, although fertiliser should not be credited for all the gains.

Kenya's maize production stood at about 34.25 million 90kg bags in 2022. It rose sharply to 47.61 million bags in 2023 before falling to 44.76 million bags in 2024.

The area under maize also increased, from about 2.11 million hectares in 2022 to 2.43 million hectares in 2023, before slightly declining to 2.41 million hectares in 2024.

Average yields improved from roughly 1.46 tonnes per hectare in 2022 to 1.76 tonnes in 2023, before falling to about 1.67 tonnes in 2024.

The figures tell an important story, but they need context. The increase in production coincided with more land being brought under cultivation and improved rainfall in 2023 after the severe drought of 2022. That means cheaper fertiliser is one part of the recovery, not the only explanation.

The official national agriculture data also shows that the agricultural sector recovered from a 2.3 per cent contraction in 2022, growing by seven per cent in 2023 and another 4.6 per cent in 2024.

The story extends beyond cereal farmers.

Milk production increased from about 4.6 billion litres in 2022 to approximately 5.2 billion litres in 2024, while coffee production rose to about 49,500 tonnes in 2024. Tea production also increased to approximately 598.5 million kilogrammes.

In Nyeri, one farmer from Karatina Ward says the dairy and coffee sectors have endured difficult periods, with some farmers abandoning coffee for other enterprises such as horticulture.

He says government support through institutions such as the Agricultural Finance Corporation has helped farmers access financing, while interventions around old debts have provided some relief.

He also points to a new generation entering agriculture, with young farmers increasingly using machinery, silage, technology and milking equipment.

But the challenges have not disappeared. Farmers still need better infrastructure for aggregating milk, avocados and other perishable products.

They are also calling for affordable credit and sector-specific subsidies to bring production costs down further.

For tea picker and farmer Daisy Wanjiru Macharia from Kirinyaga, the improvement in payments is noticeable, but the gains remain limited.

She says tea workers are now earning about Sh15 to Sh16 per kilogramme, compared with Sh7 previously. Yet she believes the rate should rise to at least Sh20 to help workers meet household expenses.

Her experience highlights an important reality. Lower production costs can improve the economics of farming, but farmers and agricultural workers still need reliable markets and better returns for the system to become genuinely sustainable.

For Daisy, even earning around Sh150 can be difficult to divide between food, school fees and other household needs.

The reduction in fertiliser prices has clearly changed the cost of one of the most important farm inputs. The journey from about Sh6,500 to Sh2,500, and now to a planned Sh2,000, represents a significant shift for farmers.

But the bigger test is whether those lower costs can translate into consistently higher yields, stronger farmer incomes and more reliable food production.

Kenya still imports significant quantities of food, while agricultural production remains vulnerable to weather. The government is therefore looking beyond fertiliser, with plans to expand irrigation, improve access to seeds and invest in dams.

The 2026/27 Budget has also maintained agriculture as a major priority, with Sh64 billion allocated to the sector, including Sh18 billion for fertiliser subsidies and Sh2 billion for seed subsidies.

For Mt Kenya farmers, cheaper fertiliser may have changed the starting point. The next challenge is making sure the savings at the input stage continue all the way to the farmer's pocket.