The Council of Governors on Tuesday pressured the national government to delegate to the devolved units the role of fertiliser distribution in the country.
Speaking during the Intergovernmental Agriculture Forum held in Mombasa with the Ministry of Agriculture, the governors argued that the national government should allocate the role of fertilizers distribution and grants directly to them.
According to the governors, it was wrong for the national government to assume the distribution role bearing in mind that different farmers have different needs for different farm inputs.
''We cannot have fertiliser where one size fits all. For every part of Kenya, there are people who usually do crops that are different from what the fertiliser is meant for,’’ Muthomi Njuki, Tharaka Nithi Governor, told a press briefing.
The governors also argued that most farmers had been inconvenienced in the past because the national government failed to know their specific needs compared to the local authorities.
The governors further added that it was wrong for the national government to continue with the role of fertiliser distribution even as agriculture was a devolved function.
However, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Andrew Karanja promised that the two levels of government would work together to see how a solution would be arrived at to avert the standoff.
The Ministry of Agriculture further revealed that it had reached other strategic resolutions aimed at enhancing coordination between the national government and the counties on issues affecting agriculture.
''Seventeen strategic resolutions emerged, aiming to enhance coordination and drive agricultural transformation,’’ the Ministry revealed.
The resolutions will aim at advancing milk production programs and establishing a national policy on agricultural land subdivisions.
''Highlights include advancing feedlot and milk cooling programs, establishing a national policy on agricultural land subdivision, improving livestock traceability, streamlining resource transfer for agricultural devolution, launching the agri-preneur model, and creating a framework for data sharing,’’ the Ministry added.
The debate on fertilizers has been a contentious issue in the country with the national government accused of supplying fake inputs during the reign of former Agricultural CS Mithuka Linturi.
