The Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, chaired by Hon. John Mutunga (Tigania West), met with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBL Innovate, Mr. Josiah Kariuki. The company is facing accusations of producing counterfeit fertilizers.

The Committee sought answers on the company’s operations in the country and circumstances surrounding their production and supply of counterfeit fertilizer to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) for distribution.

 Mr. Kariuki told the Committee that his experience in farming led him to venture into the fertilizer business. He added that he had approached the African diatomite company to partner with to produce fertilizer after signing a contract with the NCPB in March 2022.

 In the documents presented, it was discovered that during his engagements with NCPB, Mr. Kariuki’s company did not have Kenya Bureau Standards (KEBS) certification, and was instead using African Diatomites’.

 Mr. Kariuki went on to state that he had sent his sample of the fertilizer to KEBS on 4th January 2023 for certification which was approved for circulation. It is the same fertilizer that he claims was delivered to the NCPB and later distributed to the market.

 “KEBS certified the sample fertilizer I presented to them. That is the same fertilizer that is in the market. About the counterfeit fertilizer, KEBS should be questioned for that,” said Mr. Kariuki.

He went on to add, “The moisture in silica can improve crop yield. Our packaging has iron inside that retains the moisture.”

Hon. Mutunga asked Mr. Kariuki to provide scientific evidence that would back his allegation that the fertilizer he produced had any improvement on crops.

He also instructed the SBL team to present all the documents that had not been tabled, to enable the Committee to write a comprehensive report.