Russian Embassy Dismisses Fake Reports of Donated Fertilizer Being Sold to Kenyan Farmers

The Russian Embassy in Kenya has dismissed reports that the subsidized fertilizer currently being sold by President Ruto’s administration was a donation by Russian company UralChem.

The embassy flagged as fake a press release purported to have been issued by UralChem protesting the alleged sale of the donated fertilizer to Kenyan farmers at a profit.

It advised Kenyans to ignore any information on Russian fertilizers unless communicated by official media platforms.

"Many fakes on Russian fertilizers are circulating in local social media. The Embassy of the Russian Federation hereby requests all users to verify information on fertilizers in Kenya on official media resources of the Embassy," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

The fake press statement asked Kenyan farmers to boycott all efforts to sell the donations. Uralchem is a Russian manufacturer of mineral and potash fertilizer.

“We, therefore, with immediate effect, recall the sale of our donations, and ask Kenyan farmers to boycott all efforts to sell our donations in the Kenyan market," the four-paragraph fake statement read in part.

On Thursday, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua flagged off a consignment of 426,000 bags of subsidized DAP fertilizer going at Sh3,500 per 50kg bag.