Why governors want State to hand over fertiliser distribution to counties

The Council of Governors has called on the national government to delegate the responsibility of fertiliser distribution to devolved units.

The governors during the Intergovernmental Agriculture Forum held in Mombasa on Tuesday raised their concerns that the national government's control over fertiliser distribution fails to address the specific needs of local farmers.

"We cannot have fertiliser where one size fits all. For every part of Kenya, there are people who usually do crops that are different from what the fertiliser is meant for," said Muthomi Njuki, Governor of Tharaka Nithi.

The county bosses noted that past experiences have shown that the national government often lacks insight into the unique requirements of farmers, which are better understood by local authorities.

The governors argued that agriculture is a devolved function, making it inappropriate for the national government to retain control over fertiliser distribution.

COG Chairperson, who is also Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, highlighted that the forum aims to deliberate on the issues affecting the agricultural sector, including crop production and livestock.

He said that the governors are looking forward to deriving solutions that will drive a significant shift in the agricultural sector.

Governor Abdullahi emphasised the issue of subsidised fertiliser planning and distribution to be done at the county level, considering that agriculture is a devolved function.

"We still have money held at the national government level that should come to the counties as a grant for us to be able to implement because agriculture is devolved," reiterated the COG Chairman.

In response, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Andrew Karanja assured attendees that both levels of government would collaborate to find a solution to this issue.

 The CS said that more effort by the two levels of government is required in the areas of implementation of policies, legal frameworks and strategies, well-structured feedback mechanisms, and financial and technical support.

He noted that to facilitate the efforts, the government has developed a sector evaluation and monitoring framework, urging the governors to support its implementation by establishing the necessary structures.

"It is critical to appreciate that one of the key drivers for agricultural transformation is county governments, who ultimately are the implementers. This is why today's meeting is premised on the need for collaborative efforts between the two levels of government to actualise the sector initiative," Karanja said.

The CS noted that since most of the agriculture functions are devolved, county governments will take the lead in promoting food and nutritional security initiatives.

The Ministry of Agriculture also announced that it had established seventeen strategic resolutions aimed at improving coordination between the national government and county governments on agricultural matters.

"Seventeen strategic resolutions emerged, aiming to enhance coordination and drive agricultural transformation," the Ministry stated.

These resolutions focus on several key areas, including advancing milk production programmes and creating a national policy on agricultural land subdivisions.

Highlights of the strategic resolutions include improving feedlot and milk cooling programmes, enhancing livestock traceability, streamlining resource transfer for agricultural devolution, launching the agri-preneur model, and developing a framework for data sharing.

As the discussion continues, the governors remain firm in their stance that local governments should play a central role in fertiliser distribution to better meet the diverse agricultural needs of Kenyan farmers.