Fertilisers are mainly used to help plants grow by providing them with essential nutrients that may not be sufficiently available in the soil.

For historical price data, Dr Timothy Njagi, a researcher at the Tegemeo Institute, an agricultural policy think tank in Kenya, referred us to the National Agricultural Information System database.

Run by the ministry of agriculture, the database provides farmers, traders and processors with daily market prices for agricultural commodities.

It has prices for three types of fertiliser: diammonium phosphate (DAP), calcium-ammonium nitrate (CAN) and nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK).

A much-vaunted subsidy by the government covered DAP, CAN, NPK and three others – urea, sulphate of ammonia and muriate of potash (MOP).

The data shows that a month before Ruto and Gachagua took office, retail prices for a 50 kilogram bag of fertiliser ranged from KSh4 000 (KSh80 per kg) to KSh9 000 (KSh180 per kg).

Source: Kenya Agriculture Management Information System

The national cereals board (NCPB) also monitors prices. In its last report before the two leaders took office, prices were between KSh4 400 and KSh7 500 on 27 May 2022.

Publicly available market data supports Gachagua's claim.

Ruto announced the fertiliser subsidy in his September 2022 inauguration speech.

He said: “... we have already made arrangements to make 1.4-million bags of fertiliser available at KSh3 500 for a 50-kilogram bag, down from the current KSh6 500. This will be available from next week.”

The agriculture ministry implemented the subsidy by the state-owned NCPB selling fertiliser at between KSh1 775 and KSh3 500 for a 50-kilogram bag as of 30 September, two weeks into the new administration.

However, the agency noted that market prices remained higher, at KSh4 400 to KSh7 600.

In August 2023, Ruto said the subsidised fertiliser prices had been further reduced to KSh2 500 for a 50-kilogram bag.

Africa Check contacted the NCPB by email, who told us the prices had fallen. “Currently the fertiliser we are handling is KSh2 500,” spokesperson Noah Koskei said.

We therefore rate Gachagua’s claim as mostly correct.

However, data from the agriculture ministry’s database - which tracks unsubsidised prices - shows that market prices remain at between KSh4 500 and KSh7 500 for a 50-kilogram bag.

The price of maize and maize meal is a political issue because it is the country's staple food. We have previously fact-checked other claims made by Ruto on maize prices.

In July 2022, shortly before Ruto was elected, his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta introduced a controversial maize flour subsidy that he said would reduce the price of a two-kilogram packet “from KSh205 to KSh100”.

However, the subsidy did not cover premium maize flour brands.

A June 2023 parliamentary report investigating the subsidy put the maize flour prices at between KSh190 and KSh215.

Tegemeo’s Dr Njagi has researched maize prices in Kenya. He directed Africa Check to the government database for price information. The database tracks 12 brands of maize flour.

It showed that on 12 September 2022, the day before Ruto and Gachagua were sworn in, a two-kilogram packet of maize flour was selling for between KSh193 and KSh256 in Nairobi’s supermarkets. These prices held the day after the swearing-in.

We rate the claim as mostly correct.

Gachagua made this claim in March 2024. To verify this, Africa Check checked with four supermarkets that stocked a total of 15 brands of maize flour.

• At Carrefour, one of the largest chains in the country, prices ranged from KSh280 to KSh124. However, the cheapest brand was sold at a 10% discount. It usually sells for KSh147. Retailers often mark down the prices of fast-moving items close to their expiry date to avoid wastage.
• At Naivas, another large chain, prices ranged from KSh167 to KSh265.
• At Chandarana prices ranged from KSh107 to KSh206, while at Quickmart they were between KSh138 and KSh215.

Gachagua’s claim checks out – there’s maize flour within his price range of KSh125 and KSh135, and even cheaper. The minimum price is also lower than the prevailing prices in September 2022. However, prices for premium brands remain high.

We therefore rate the claim as mostly correct.

According to the Central Bank of Kenya, one US dollar exchanged for an average of KSh119.45 in August 2022. In September, the month Ruto took office, the exchange rate was KSh120.42 per dollar.

The local currency weakened from KSh121.03 per dollar in October 2022 to KSh159.69 in January 2024. The dollar averaged KSh161 in February 2024.

As the shilling weakened sharply, the central bank governor Kamau Thugge said it was overvalued, a sentiment later echoed by finance minister Njuguna Ndung’u.

Ruto claimed that his predecessor, Kenyatta, had used foreign currency reserves to prop up the shilling, thereby “maintaining an artificial exchange rate”.

But Gachagua was wrong, the dollar was not at KSh162 when he and Ruto were sworn in. All data shows that the shilling weakened significantly against the dollar during Ruto’s nascent administration.

In the week that Gachagua spoke, the central bank’s weekly bulletin showed that the dollar had traded at KSh132.38, down from KSh134.01 the previous week.

In this respect, Gachagua was right.

In May 2024 the local currency was trading at about KSh133 to the dollar.