KENYA – Kenyan fertilizer maker Fertiplant East Africa is set to launch its fertilizer granulation plant in Nakuru, Central of Kenya at the end of this year.
A first of its kind in East Africa, the Sh3 billion (US$27.6m) NPK Compound Granulation plant will produce 100,000 tons of fertilizer per year to serve over two million farmers in the region.
This will improve crop yields, bolster food security and better farmers’ incomes.
According to reports by Business Daily, construction of the plant started in 2015 and is funded by Oikocredit and NCBA.
“The plant is set for commissioning in December and will be ready to produce tailor-made NPK fertilisers for the 2021 long rains season.”
Mea Fertilisers Managing Director and Fertiplant consultant – Eustace Muriuki
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group also issued a US$10 million loan to Fertiplant in 2017.
The newly constructed plant will employ the latest in steam granulation technology with operations anchored in soil testing to produce fertiliser for various soil types and crop specific requirements
“The plant is set for commissioning in December and will be ready to produce tailor-made NPK fertilisers for the 2021 long rains season,” said Fertiplant consultant Eustace Muriuki, who is also Mea Fertilisers Managing Director.
The company will also educate farmers on new farming practices including soil testing and plant nutrition.
This comes in the wake of increased acidity in soils that has significantly reduced fertility, hence reduced yields for farmers.
Studies show under good management, farms have a production capacity of up to 40 bags per acre of maize, a potential that many Kenyan farmers are currently undershooting by far.
Agriculture CS Peter Munya said it is time farmers embraced science and technology to boost yields, “We have to remove guesswork from farming by encouraging soil testing, the production and application of fertiliser guided by the test results,” said Mr Munya during a site visit at the plant.
With the new plant, fertilizer will be readily available to farmers at affordable prices, curbing the menace of shortages and sky rocketing prices which face the sub-sector impoverished by cartels.
So far this year, 485,000 metric tons of fertiliser has been imported by private dealers, and it is expected to rise to 640,000 metric tons by December.
Fertiplant is owned by MEA Ltd which currently operates a dry bulk fertiliser blending plant in Nakuru with an installed capacity of 300,000 metric tonnes per year.
The company received the Kenya Vision 2030 flagship project status in 2016 which will enable it to effectively collaborate with government.
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