The government has introduced a fresh input subsidy targeting farmers affected by drought, reducing the price of a 50kg bag of fertilizer by Sh500 and cutting the cost of certified maize seed by half.
NAIROBI, Kenya — The government has lowered the price of subsidised fertilizer to Sh2,000 for a 50kg bag and halved the price of certified maize seed from Sh300 to Sh150 per kilogramme as part of measures to help farmers recover from drought-related crop losses.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development said the intervention is intended to reduce farmers’ production costs and encourage them to take advantage of the upcoming planting season to restore food production.
Under the new fertilizer subsidy, farmers will pay Sh2,000 for a 50kg bag, down from the previous subsidised price of Sh2,500.
The new maize seed prices translate to Sh300 for a 2kg pack, down from Sh600; Sh1,500 for 10kg, down from Sh3,000; and Sh3,750 for 25kg, down from Sh7,500.
The intervention targets approximately 40 million kilogrammes of certified maize seed, representing an estimated Sh6 billion government subsidy.
Farmers will access the subsidised fertilizer and maize seed through government-designated distribution channels.
Government links subsidy to food security
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the measures are designed to cushion farmers who lost crops to drought and prevent the losses from affecting their ability to plant during the next season.
The government described the intervention as part of its broader shift from subsidising consumption to subsidising agricultural production by lowering the cost of farm inputs.
“At the heart of this intervention is a simple principle: a farmer who has lost a crop to drought must not also lose the ability to plant the next crop because fertilizer and seed are beyond reach,” the ministry said.
The government is urging farmers to return to production while it expands investments in irrigation, water harvesting and other climate-smart measures intended to strengthen Kenya’s resilience to changing weather patterns.
Fertilizer price has fallen by more than 73 per cent since 2022
The latest reduction takes the price of a subsidised 50kg bag of fertilizer to Sh2,000 from about Sh7,500 in 2022.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Fertilizer Subsidy Programme initially brought the price down to Sh2,500 before the latest Sh500 reduction.
The government estimates that the price has now fallen by more than 73 per cent from the 2022 level.
Since 2022, approximately 33.55 million 50kg bags of subsidised fertilizer have been distributed to farmers, with about 1.98 million farmers benefiting.
The government says its support under the programme has amounted to approximately Sh78.79 billion.
Maize production rises as imports decline
The government linked the fertilizer subsidy programme to increased agricultural production over the past three years.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya’s maize production increased from 34.3 million 90kg bags in 2022 to 73 million bags in 2025.
Over the same period, maize imports declined by more than 66.5 per cent, according to government figures.
The ministry said the gains must be protected from the effects of drought, making the new input subsidies necessary to support farmers ahead of the next planting cycle.
The government is also encouraging farmers to make use of expected rainfall while continuing to invest in measures that can reduce the country’s vulnerability to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.
New subsidies come amid drought losses
The latest measures come after drought conditions affected agricultural production in several parts of the country, raising concerns over food availability and household incomes.
By lowering the cost of fertilizer and certified seed, the government hopes farmers will be able to resume production without carrying the full financial burden of replacing inputs after crop failures.
The Ministry of Agriculture said the intervention would support food production while strengthening national food security.
The government also plans to continue supporting farmers through irrigation, water harvesting and climate-smart agricultural interventions.
The new subsidy programme therefore combines immediate assistance for farmers affected by drought with longer-term efforts to reduce the impact of changing weather patterns on Kenya’s food production.
