March 24, 2022, Nairobi, Kenya - The National Treasury's decision to remove a Sh5.1 billion allocation for fertilizer subsidies for farmers has sparked outrage among legislators in the Agriculture Committee.
Chairman of the Committee, Silas Tiren, accused his colleagues in the Budget and Appropriations Committee of secretly amending their proposal, which included the fertilizer subsidy.
Tiren pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene, warning that the removal of the subsidy could lead to a food shortage crisis in the country.
"We want to know if they think that Kenyans can do without farmers, we want the Ministry of Agriculture to come out clean on whether they are willing to help us or they're not willing," Tiren said.
Other MPs, including Majimbo Kalasinga and Osman Mohammed, accused the National Treasury of playing politics with the country's food security.
"It is unfair that Kenyans are being made to pay because of someone else's failures," Mohammed said.
The Ministry of Agriculture's Chief Administrative Secretary, Lawrence Omukaha, said the ministry was equally surprised by the removal of the funds and intended to raise the matter in the cabinet.
