Spectre International is set to be Kenya’s first fertiliser maker after it announced plans to venture into local production of a range of top dressing products. The firm associated with former prime minister Raila Odinga said it has started pilot production of artificial fertilisers as it seeks to diversify from ethanol due to reduced availability of key raw material molasses, a by-product of sugar production. “We have a capacity to produce 40 tonnes of fertiliser daily if we operate at optimal level”, said the firm’s managing director Peter Brown. “All we need is to invest in the dryers and packaging material and we will be set.” Mr Brown said the fertiliser will be manufactured from the solid residues that remain after the fermentation process. The Kisumu-based firm said it has already sent samples of its fertiliser to the Kenya Bureau of Standards for quality testing and was already conducting field tests. Mr Brown said the product will be launched soon into the Kenyan market without giving set timelines. Farmers stand to the biggest winners as locally produced fertiliser will be cheaper and easily accessible. The government has in the past funded the struggling National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to import fertiliser in bulk to help cushion maize farmers from the high cost of the commodity. The Kenya Tea Development Authority also imports fertiliser on behalf of its more than 560,000 small holder tea farmers who benefit from cheaper prices due to economies of scale. Application of top dressing provides essential plant nutrients which is crucial for higher yields and increased earnings for agri-preneurs. Kenya’s fertiliser business is dominated by Mea Limited and ARM Cement that import concentrates and blend it to produce crop and soil specific fertilisers. The move by Spectre to diversify into the fertiliser market is attributed to reduced availability of molasses that has hit its operations after Kenya’s biggest sugar firm Mumias began producing its own ethanol. Data from the latest Economic Survey shows that Kenya imported chemical fertilisers worth Sh20.2 billion last year. After multiple false starts, the government last year revived its efforts to establish a Sh35 billion local fertiliser processing plant to serve East Africa.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 04:56:13 +0000
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