Mombasa County Women Representative Zamzam Mohamed has supported the motion to support and promote local fertilizer manufacturing industries.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Zamzam said the government has been importing fertilizer because local industries have not been able to meet the demand by farmers in the country.
Zamzam said the government’s investment in building new fertilizer industries will have a lot of benefits.
“We know that now and after the COVID-19 pandemic, lots of people lost their jobs, and job opportunities have been scarce, so if we invest in building and adding more industries, we will create employment for many youths,” said Zamzam.
Zamzam added that the move will also cut on government spending to import fertilizer from overseas.
“According to the mover of the motion Hon. Sam Atandi, in the last two years government has spent almost sh.50B to import subsidized fertilizer, and yet farmers are queuing and spending the night at cereal boards just to get fertilizer at a cheaper price,” added Zamzam.
She said the money being spent to import fertilizer can be used to build and upgrade fertilizer industries in the country.
The vocal women rep also noted that sometimes imported fertilizer takes a long time to be cleared at the port while farmers wait.
She said having industries in the country ensures easy access and timely delivery of fertilizer to farmers.
“If we add more industries, a farmer can simply walk in there, buy their fertilizer and plant on time. Many farmers today are complaining that the rainy season has begun, they have tilled their lands but they cannot plant because there is a shortage of fertilizer,” she reiterated.
Zamzam said in the long run, the country will have food security.