As counterfeit product syndicates increase, the Kisii County County Government, working with the county government, plans to launch a vigorous campaign against counterfeit fertilizer vendors.
Representatives from the two tiers of government as well as Elijah Obori, the member of the County Executive Committee (CEC) for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Cooperative Development, made this revelation during a joint meeting.
According to the CECM, two suspects were detained in Suneka, Kisii South Sub-County, on suspicion of trafficking in tainted government fertilizer intended for distribution to farmers.
Since then, farmers have been warned not to purchase fertilizer and seedlings that have not received government certification. Obori claims that the most well-known locations in Kisii County for the sale of tainted fertilizer are open-air marketplaces.
Obori issued a warning, saying, “We are here to inform the public that our farmers should not go to the markets and purchase anything purportedly from open-air markets that is fertilizer.”
The CECM further explained that only authorized agro-fed stores are able to sell fertilizer that has been certified by the government.
“To make sure they are getting authentic products, it is essential for our farmers to purchase fertilizers from authorized dealers rather than open-air markets,” he continued.
The county administration also cautioned farmers against buying seedlings from outside markets, stating that there was a chance they had not complied with planting standards, which could have resulted in health risks for both the producers and the end user.
Additionally, Obori disclosed that the county administration would launch a crackdown on all fertilizer merchants in all marketplaces in the future.
The government has been fighting the persistent problem of counterfeit fertilizer in circulation for months. Mithika Linturi, the cabinet secretary for agriculture at the time, was compelled to clarify accusations that the government was selling fake fertilizer in March 2024, calling them propaganda.
The chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries at the time, James Kamau, was eager to explain how phony fertilizer had entered government silos.
