The Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems (KCDMS) Chief of Party Robert Mwadime is urging the government to extend the subsidized fertilizer programme to cover indigenous food crops most of which are drought resilient.
Mwadime said there is need to increase production of indigenous crops such millet, and sorghum to reduce demand pressure on maize and reduce the country’s overall food import bill.
Kenya imported maize worth Ksh 24.7 billion last year as the country grappled with a 7pc decline in production that was partly blamed on poor rains and costlier fertilizer.
According to KCDMS the extension of the fertilizer subsidy programme to cover indigenous crops is an important step to operationalize the blending policy.
USAID has invested Ksh 7.3 billion to strengthen Kenya’s food systems over the next five years that will among others focus on indigenous crops.
