Fertiliser subsidy cuts the cost of farming by more than half

The previous administration subsidised consumption. President Ruto made a deliberate, and initially unpopular, decision to subsidise production instead — putting money into the farmer's input costs rather than into the price of flour on the shelf.

The result

• Subsidised fertiliser distributed rose from 1.4 million bags (2022) to 8.6 million bags.
• The cost of a bag dropped from roughly Sh6,000 to Sh2,500.
• 6.15 million farmers have been digitally registered, so the subsidy reaches the real farmer and not a broker.

The registration platform ended the cartel problem that had defined every previous subsidy programme. A farmer redeems fertiliser against a verified national ID and a registered plot — nothing else works.