Watch out for fake fertilisers, farmers told as planting season starts

Farmers have been warned of fake fertiliser in the market. [File, Standard]

Volumes of dubious fertilizer are making a major return to the market as planting season begins, the Anti-Counterfeit Authority has warned.

Counterfeit fertilizer worth over Sh23 million has already been flagged as suspected cartels make a kill selling fake inputs to unsuspecting farmers who are in a rush to grow maize this season.

Farmers have been lining up for government-subsidized inputs outside National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots across the country in recent days as rains pound several areas in Kenya's food baskets.

Others have been thronging commercial stores for fertilizer in a rush to start planting but unscrupulous individuals are enjoying super profits by selling fake fertilizer.

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ASA) Thursday revealed that 19,000 bags that were to be used to package doubtful fertilizer were seized in Nairobi’s Kariokor a few weeks ago.

According to the authority, cartels were repackaging the government’s subsidized fertilizer and repackaging them.

After repackaging, they sell them to unsuspecting farmers as a different brand deemed to be of higher quality and overcharge desperate farmers who want to take advantage of the ongoing rains to produce the country’s staple food.

“At the end of the day, in the process of duping consumers, they overcharge them and there is a danger of not conforming to quality standards,” ACA Executive Director Robi Njoroge said in Eldoret.

He said the unscrupulous traders were using popular trademarks to dupe farmers who cannot establish the quality into buying fakes.

In Molo, Nakuru County, for instance, 233 bags of fertilizer suspected to be fake were seized. The suspects were getting ready to sell the fake input to farmers in the agriculturally-rich area of Nakuru.

Yesterday, the authority could not confirm whether Kenyan farmers were purchasing the fake fertilizer as large volumes of the input are supplied to various outlets across the country.

It however expressed fears that fake inputs were increasingly becoming a “grave threat” to food production.

Dr Njoroge said some unscrupulous fertilizer dealers made the product available and cheaper to unsuspecting farmers.

He said many farmers unknowingly buy fake fertilizer and this could contribute to poor harvests.

“Counterfeit agricultural inputs are a direct threat to Kenya’s food security and economic stability,” the executive director said.

He went on to say: “Farmers unknowingly purchase fake fertilizers, which lead to poor harvests, soil degradation, and financial losses.”

The authority said farmers in the Rift Valley, and the coastal region were more vulnerable in the distribution and sale of fake agro-inputs.

Dr Njoroge defended the authority, saying it was creating awareness among farmers and that it was disrupting fake fertilizer rackets.

“Between 2020 and 2025, ACA has seized counterfeit fertilizers worth Sh7.4 million and fake agrochemicals worth Sh39.7 million, significantly disrupting counterfeit supply chains across the country,” he said.