KTDA to import 99m bags of fertilizer for tea growers
Wangari Mwangi-KNA
The Kenya Tea Development Agency will procure fertilizer to distribute to smallholder tea farmers in tea growing areas.
The agency will procure some 99,875 metric tonnes of nitrogen phosphorus and potassium (NPK) fertilizer for use by 700,000 small holder tea farmers during the 2025 tea growing season.
In a tender advertisement, the agency says it is seeking an international manufacturer or its authorized agent to supply the input whose composition ratio should be 26 (Nitrogen), 5 (Phosphorous) and 5(Potassium)-NPK (26:5:5).
This year’s consignment is approximately 1.9 million, 50-kilogram (kg) bags of fertilizer. The purchase is 2,887 metric tonnes more than what the agency procured during the 2024 growing season when 97,000 metric tonnes of the input were procured from Russia through competitive international bidding.
“KTDA Management Services Limited intends to procure approximately 99,875 metric tonnes (1,997,500 x 50-kg bags of NPK 26:5:5 chemically compounded fertilizer for small scale tea farmers in its managed tea factories in Kenya for the year 2025.
“The agency consequently invited manufacturers and or their authorized agents to bid for the supply of the said fertilizer as specified in the tender document,” said the advertisement published on the agency’s website.
According to the advert, the tender bids will be opened on the same day, with the agency giving the bidders an opportunity to witness the bid opening either physically or virtually.
“Completed tender documents should be deposited in the tender box at the reception on the ground floor, Majani Plaza, Koinange Street, Nairobi to be received no later than 9:30 am East African Time on 25th February 2025.
“The submitted technical bids will be opened on the same day. Bidders or their appointed representatives may choose to attend virtually through a video link or physically,” the advert reads.
The agency has been procuring fertilizer in bulk for smallholder tea farmers who deliver green leaf to KTDA managed factories. The arrangement ensures that the farmers have access to high quality fertilizer at competitive prices and in a reliable manner.
Once the fertilizer is delivered to the country, KTDA then packages the input in the 50-kilogram bags and sets the retail price.
The input is then distributed to the farmers through their respective factories, where KTDA recovers money from the individual farmer during the bonus payment and monthly green leaf payout.
Last year, the KTDA supplied the input at the cost of Sh2,500 per 50-kilogram bag, after the Ministry of Agriculture availed a Sh 2-billion fertilizer subsidy for the tea subsector.
The move helped the farmers secure a Sh900 discount for every 50-kilogram bag of fertilizer purchased at the factory.