Agents from Kakamega County's Directorate of Criminal Investigations seized seven hundred bags of counterfeit fertilizer from a Malava depot.
Following what they describe as extortion and fraud in the county's fertilizer plan, farmers in the area are now pressing the county government for answers. The farmers claim that the fertilizer supplied to them was contaminated with stones.
"After purchasing 25 kilograms of the fertilizer above on March 5th, I later learned that the agricultural input had been contaminated with stones. A resident farmer told Citizen TV, "I hadn't even used a single bag."
Since then, DCI detectives have collected samples from the seized bags to examine and ascertain the precise makeup of the purportedly counterfeit fertilizer.
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"When I opened one of the bags and mixed a small sample of it with water only stones remained much to my surprise," another farmer said.
This occurs when farmers from across the nation are reportedly experiencing shortages of government-subsidized fertilizer in the area, leading to lengthy lines at various depots searching for the product.
"This county fertilizer is being sold in kilograms for Ksh. 1,920. On the other hand, the county government charges Ksh. 2,500 for a 50-kg fertilizer bag. "You can see the difference," MCA Titus Kwoma of Chekalini Ward stated.
Nonetheless, the County Government has defended the product, citing local politics.
