Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Thursday ordered the destruction of 27,518 bags of expired fertiliser at various National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB) stores, assuring that the government and the public would not incur any losses.
“Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has today ordered the destruction of 27,518 bags of an expired consignment of fertiliser held in various National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores across the country,” the Ministry stated.
“The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) is to supervise the safe destruction of this consignment of sulphate of ammonia (21%) fertiliser that was delivered to NCPB by the supplier between December 27, 2024, and January 6, 2025,” it further added.
Accordinh to the ministry, the consignment delivered to NCPB, a total of 34,100 bags (50 kg), came after prior tests done by KEBS had revealed that the fertiliser complied with Kenyan standards.
“Prior to contract execution, samples of the fertiliser were drawn by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) for testing, and the results indicated that the fertiliser complied with the requirement for Sulphate of Ammonia (21%N) and NPK fertilisers as per Kenyan standards,” noted the Ministry
However, upon delivery, the Board noted the short shelf-life of the fertiliser, which was set to expire towards the end of February. Upon the discovery, the supplier was notified and instructed to deliver fertiliser with a longer shelf life.
“Upon supply, NCPB noted the short shelf life, which was to lapse on February 28, 2025, as indicated in the packaging material. The supplier was notified of the same and requested to deliver fertiliser with a longer shelf life, as the entire consignment was unlikely to be sold by the end of February,” it explained.
“Per standard operating procedures, the unsold fertiliser would not be released to the market and would be safely destroyed,” Kagwe added.
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