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The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock on Thursday, March 20, 2024 met with Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) officials led by the Managing Director, Ms. Esther Ngari.
The standards body appeared before the Committee chaired by Hon. (Dr.) John Mutunga (Tigania West) to shed light on the certification status of the alleged substandard and counterfeit fertilizer being distributed under the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme.
According to Ms. Ngari, KEBS did not certify any such fertilizer and the same are not being distributed under the Government Subsidy programme as per the information she has.
Members had sought to know whether the fertilizer distributed under the Programme were certified by KEBS or not.
Ms. Ngari told the Committee that the product which KEBS initially certified is different from what has been seized from various National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB) depots in the country, tested and flagged as unsuitable for sale in the market.
βKEBS certified organic fertilizer (Brand: BL-GPC ORIGINAL) upon fulfillment of the requirements for application of Product Permit for Organic fertilizer by SBL Innovate Manufactures Limited,β Ms. Ngari said.
However, she added that through routine Market Surveillance activities and public complaints they identified a potential breach of the Certification Contract by SBL- Innovate Manufactures Limited.
The Committee heard that the Manufacturers had engaged in misuse of the KEBS Standardization Mark on a product that was not certified by KEBS.
βThe Company displayed the mark on a product that had not undergone the mandatory certification process as stipulated by the Standards Act and governed by the applicable standard,β she said.
Dr. Mutunga asked the team to state their immediate actions after finding out there was a potential misuse of their Standardization Mark and what the penalties are for anyone found culpable.
βSo, after finding out the SBL- Innovate Manufactures Limited had breached the Certification Contract what were your immediate actions?β Dr. Mutunga asked.
In her response, the MD told the Committee that KEBS immediate actions were; suspension of Standardization Mark it has issued for organic fertilizer, Brand: BL- GPC Original, seizure of all unauthorized products from the company found in all the 59 NCPBs across the country and initiating legal proceedings against SBL- Innovate Manufactures Limited.
The Committee is set to meet with officials from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and the Ministry Agriculture and Livestock Development who are also expected to shed more light on the matter.
