The construction of the proposed fertilizer manufacturing plant in Kenya is expected to begin by March 2013.
Agriculture Permanent Secretary Romano Kiome says having the plant in Kenya will significantly reduce the cost of fertilizer and make it available to farmers.
Accessing fertilizer for Kenyan small scale farmers has been a thorny issue over the years and it has been considered one of the main reasons contributing to poor food production in the country.
And though the government has made strides in subsidizing fertilizer, only about 60% of farmers are able to get it.
The East Africa region countries had embarked on an ambitious plan to jointly build a fertilizer manufacturing plant that would serve the countries, however this plan did not go as expected.
The ministry of agriculture is now involving the private sector who is expected to be the major funders of this project.
Though Kenya is not well endowed with fertilizer raw materials, the feasibility study shows that there are unconfirmed deposits of rock phosphate in Mirima hills at the coastal region and at Nyanza and geologists will conduct a survey to ascertain its viability.
The plant which is estimated to cost 27 billion shillings once complete will produce an estimated 350,000 tonnes of fertilizer per year starting 2015.
Source :kbc.co.ke
