United Nations World Food Program on Saturday, April 22, struck a deal with Latvia, allowing a ship full of fertiliser to leave for Kenya.
According to Latvia's Foreign Ministry, the ship headed to Kenya was seized following sanctions imposed by the European Union. The vessel was full of fertiliser of Russian origin.
It emerged that the Russian companies which made the donation were sanctioned by European Union, forcing Latvia to seize the ship at its Riga Port.
However, following a deal between United Nations World Food Program and Latvia, the ship was released from Riga Port and allowed to sail to Kenya.
"Decided to facilitate the donation, with support from the UN World Food Program, of mineral fertilizers owned by companies sanctioned by the European Union," the statement read in part.
"The Latvian Government decided to facilitate the donation, with support from the UN World Food Programme, of mineral fertilisers owned by companies sanctioned by the European Union," it added.
After releasing the ship, Latvia pledged to support other countries affected by the food crisis.
"Together with its foreign partners and international organisations, Latvia continues providing support for the countries that have been affected by the food crisis," Latvia added.
However, the names and identities of companies that donated fertiliser to Kenya were not released. It was not immediately established if the donation was directed to President William Ruto's administration or individual companies.
The donation was made days after the Kenya Kwanza administration scaled up the fertiliser subsidy programme in the country.
President William Ruto added that the fertiliser would target over five million registered farmers from various National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB).
The head of state insisted that his government would supply fertiliser at Ksh3,500 from Ksh6,000 to help them advance their farming.
His administration also embarked on registering farmers for fertiliser supply, with 5 million spending their signatures in the first two weeks of the exercise.
“Today, we are giving fertilisers to farmers using the digital platform. Everybody gets an SMS your fertilizer is ready. Come for it. You don’t have to cue. We don’t have the cartels. Old men have nowhere to steal our fertilisers,” Ruto stated on Tuesday, April 11, during the release of the ministry performance report at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
“For the first time, every farmer who wanted fertilizer got it, and the program is doing well," he added.
