Lamu,KENYA:Farmers in Lamu county are facing a fertilizer shortage following the lack of it at the government store at Mokowe town.
County executive for Agriculture who also doubles as the deputy governor Eric Mugo said the fertilizer shortage had lasted for the last two months and that farmers are unable to conduct farming during this planting season as a result.
Speaking in Lamu town on Friday,Mugo the shortage has been brought about by the laxity of officials managing the National Cereals and Produce Board-NCPB whom he accused of failing to account for the distribution of fertilizer across the county.
He said out of the 5000 bags of fertilizer ordered by the county from the NCPB,only 2,400 have been arrived in the county.
Mugo said due to the large number of farmers in the county,the available fertilizer was not enough to cater for each and every one and therefore called on the NCPB to deliver the remaining bags as soon as possible before the planting season goes out.
“There is a very serious fertilizer shortage in Lamu currently and its all thanks to the NCPB.We ordered fertilizer way early but so far they have delivered half of what we wanted.Now its not enough for all farmers and the planting season is almost over.The farmers don’t know what to do and we have no answers to their questions.Cant the NCPB do its job already so we sort this mess,”said Mugo.
