The Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has questioned how NCPB (National Produce and Cereals Board) spent Ksh 8.1 billion instead of the budgeted Ksh 5 billion.
This came after the government, in 2006, set up the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Programme (NAAIAP) to address food security and poverty.
According to the Auditor General’s report, the purchase of fertilizer and implementation of the programme in the 2017-2018 financial year is questionable.
The Ksh 5 billion budget was to be spent on 38,000 tonnes of fertilizer worth Ksh 1.3 billion for the 2017 short rainy season and 130,480 tonnes worth Ksh 3.7 billion for the 2018 long rainy season.
The budget was revised upwards, but there was no revision in the quantity of fertilizer acquired.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, said the budget was revised to clear NCPB debts.
The department, however, failed to provide any evidence the money was used to clear debts.
The report stated that the order had a deficit of 22,802.65 tonnes. The auditors added that the fertilizer was of poor quality.
Further investigations showed the National Produce and Cereals Board had hired an independent company to carry out weights and quality surveys on the fertilizer instead of the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
“It is not clear, how much of the fertilizer that was produced by both the state department and the National Cereals and Produce Board on behalf of the State Department was sold to farmers,” said the report.
“It was indicated that the amount was used to offset its debts owed to the NCPB as the state Department had failed to settle its obligations related to subsidy claims by NCPB”, the report reads.
236,217 bags of fertilizer were in perfect condition and still at NCPB depots. The report also showed that NCPB sold over 2.3 million bags of fertilizer and had earned over Ksh 2.3 billion.
