A group of Kenyans have been accused of sacrificing the Kenyan farmers at the hands of a Saudi Arabia’s oligarch who has taken over the fertilizer industry.
The Saudi Arabian fertilizer supplier, Maaden, is said to have been given a free-hand by a five-member committee which recommended the lowering of Cadmium levels to 15 parts per million (ppm) from 30ppm.
Maaden, a Saudi mining company, has since been Kenya’s sole supplier of fertilizer, crushing the struggling local companies under its feet.
In the 2018 agreement, none of the Kenyan companies met the 15ppm mark, and were, therefore, technically edged out of business.
Industry players now read the influence of the committee chair, Mr Henry Ogola in their suffering, claiming that Ogola is Maaden’s local agent.
In response, Ogola has since dismissed the claims of being the giant company’s Kenyan agent, only divulging that he happens to be a fertilizer expert.
What I can say is that I am a fertiliser expert with so many multi-national companies across the globe. It is the work of Kebs and not me to set standards,” he reacted.
Maaden, the sole fertilizer supplier, has been dictating prices which farmers have been at pains to cope with.
The high cost of fertilizer has significantly increased the cost of food production.
many farmers now claim they are tactically being edged out of agribusiness with the high production cost.