Vitalis Wafula With Yara, Knowledge Grows

Kenyan farmers love their crops. of course they invest their livelyhood to produce the best. At Yara we tell them with the right knowledge come the right results as Edwin Kirwa of Cereals Magazine found out during an interview with Vitalis Wafula, Commercial Manager Yara East Arica Ltd

Subsidies are good things, they are done in western countries too and this is good for Kenyan farmers but to contributing towards productivity, sustainability, safety and food security NO since they have not invested enough in research and development process.

Briefly discuss Yara Kenya, its background, operations, branches in Kenya and its management team.
Yara, was started in 1905 in Norway, making it the pioneer of Nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing company. Over the years Yara grown her Crop Nutrition business globally, with manufacturing plants in several European countries including Norway, Belgium, Finland, Italy, UK among others as well as in Asia, Middle East, North and South America and Africa. The expansion has seen the company gain a footprint in more than 56 countries (Operational presence ) and products selling in over 160 around the world.

Yara in Kenya was instituted back in 1995 and is famously known for her “Chapa Meli” brand, which is a Swahili translation of the company’s logo. The brand name is still used in some fertilizer products like UREA, DAP and CAN. Yara specializes in crop specific fertilizers that are, but not limited to, YaraMila Cereal, YaraMila Power, YaraMila Winner, YaraMila Java, YaraBela Sulfan, YaraBela Extran, YaraLiva Nitrabor among others. What are the crop nutrition products and/or solutions you offer to the Kenyan Farmer? How do you ensure the farmers uses the right crop nutrition products? “With more than a century in operation since its inception, Yara through an intense Research and Development process has managed to develop products stretching to all crops. Therefore, we have Crop nutrition products, tailor-made to specific crops, ranging from Coffee, Maize, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Vegetables, melon, sugarcane, Tea etc ..Our products fall under the following product ranges YaraMila ( Compound NPK range ) YaraBela ( Calcium Ammonium Nitrate range ), YaraVera ( Ureic Products ), YaraLiva ( Calcium Nitrate Range ) and YaraVita ( Foliar products range ).

With investment in qualified and experienced Agronomists all around the country, we continue to focus on farmer knowledge enhancement, by training and coaching farmers in best practices in areas of Crop Nutrition ( Fertilizers and fertilization ) as well as general crop Agronomy to improve farmers productivity and profitability.” Said Vitalis Wafula

How accessible is Yara’s fertilizers to the farmers?
“With 22 years in operation in East Africa, and in Kenya, we have grown a network of more than 250 distributors segmented in different regions in Kenya. These distributors range from Major distributor agents, farm input suppliers and stockists. With a clear segmentation of the distribution network, our farmers are now able to access the products at the right time in without travelling long distances to access these products.”

How is quality ensured for fertilizers sold to the farmers? How can the farmer select right combination and ratios of fertilizer for any crop?
“With investment majorly on R & D processes, we focus on manufacturing soil friendly, less acidic and crop specific compound fertilizers, relevant for the regions we operate in. We ensure our products are of the best quality, living to our mission which is on sustainability both for the business and the farmers. We do this through enabling the farmers to increase productivity when using our products and still be able to conserve the environment. A great team of agronomists, NGO’s , government agencies and seeds companies whom we partner in business helps us scale up the process of educating the farmer and advising them on the right products for specific crops and conditions.”

Briefly discuss the term “balanced fertilization”? Are chemical fertilizers harmful for crops, if used in excess quantity or in wrong combination of nutrients?
Every product is potentially harmful when used incorrectly; For fertilizers, all the raw materials are obtained naturally including Air, Natural gas and naturally occurring and mined rock phosphate, that are then chemically combined in the manufacturing process, that makes the nutrients plant available. And with investment in farmer knowledge as well as cooperation with government regulatory authorities, our products are safe to use and to the environment. Environmental Sustainability, Ethics and compliance are at the core of our business.

Products can be mis-used (Over or underused). What mechanisms are in place to fully equip farmers with knowledge in matters crop nutrition so as to ensure they get value out of their investments?
“Our main focus when we manufacture our products is rooted in productivity, sustainability and production of less acidifying products which are friendly to the environment. With this in mind and in partnership with a competent team of agronomists, NGO’S, seed companies and government agencies, we continue to disseminate this knowledge to the farmer , to ensure they use the Right Fertilizers, in the Right Amounts, at the Right Time using the Right Application methods. . With our partners and our Agronomists, we therefore continue to scale up this knowledge and have seen significant increases in farmer productivity in the many crop segment we work in.

Why should the farmer consider Yara Fertilizer?
As knowledge leaders in Crop Nutrition with global experiences of over a century, we bring this experiences to share with our farmers and translate that to local Performance and excellence. Our Integrity even as we do business assures our customers and partners that we deliver on our promise. As we say, “ What’s printed on the bag , is in the bag “ for us, hence the trust we have seen from our farmers in our Brand for many years. Unlike many other players, we are not here to just sell a bag of fertilizer, but rather to partner with and walk with the farmer to improve his/her productivity, and therefore performance for all involved in the chain. It’s the reason why we have invested heavily on farmer knowledge through consistent trainings and demonstrations in different farms and knowledge dissemination through different marketing platforms.” So to choose Yara, is to choose Trust and knowledge for productivity and Growth.

Agriculture is a key pillar to the country’s economy, how does your business strategy contribute towards economic growth and stability?
The reason why Kenya is still a net importer of food, more than 50 years after independence, is that we just don’t produce enough per unit area. We have no luxury of creating more farmland and even the little we have continues to be subdivided further into un-economical parcels from pressures of population growth. This and many other pressure factors point to the unquestionable truth that we must produce more, efficiently and sustainably per unit area for both our food security and economic growth. We currently produce about 1.5 to 2 tonnes per hectare compared to other excelling countries which produce more than 5 tonnes per hectare. We must therefore all invest in closing this knowledge gap in Agricultural productivity to mitigate this perennial hunger caused by less than optimal production. Yara is partnering with like-minded entities to lead from the front in this battle, and the Kenyan farmer is at the core.

Last year, the country experienced food shortage despite the fact that we actively participate in agriculture. How is Yara helping towards enhancing food security and playing part in the president’s big four agenda, especially food security?
This challenge was witnessed due to inadequate knowledge by the farmers, and in some cases inaccessibility to the necessary inputs by farmers. So, developing a good distribution network of inputs and scaling farmer knowledge will go a long way in alleviating this challenge. I believe that with the right knowledge about the growing conditions, the right products for the crops and clear training and demonstrations from agronomists and other stakeholders in the sector; productivity will definitely increase. For maize for example, we have approximately 2.1 million hectares; therefore we are talking about millions of farmers against a small number of agronomists and Extension technical staff and other relevant stakeholders who disseminate knowledge to the farmers. In Yara we try to address this imbalance through investment in marketing activities like this and in other platforms to scale up this so critical farmer knowledge.

We at Yara also have a program named Yara Shujaa program, where we have recruited lead farmers in different crops who have used Yara’s products and seen the results. This provides a platform for farmers to share experiences and best practices in their day-to-day activites. As you can see we are clearly playing out significant part in contributing towards the president’s big four agenda and especially food security. But we all still have a long way to go.

What would you say of the government subsidy scheme? Is it working?
Subsidies are good initiatives, and have be implemented in many countries around the world, including the western countries. So it’s a a beneficial scheme for Kenya n farmers too as it addresses to key gaps ; Access and affordability of inputs. Successful stories have come from countries that have structured the subsidy though a voucher scheme in partnership with the private sector so that a farmer is able to redeem that voucher with the fertilizer of their choice based on their knowledge and experiences. Such a scheme would not only give the farmer an option to choose what works best for them, but would also incentivize private sector ( Input Suppliers including Manufactures such as Yara etc as well as Distributors and Stockists) to invest in better products and farmer knowledge so as to avail the best solutions. I am aware that he government has plans to pilot such a scheme and we look forward to it.

Comparing Kenya with other countries like Tanzania and South Africa for instance, we experience favorable conditions that should contribute to more produce but this is not the case, what advice can you give farmers in a push to attain maximum yields?
It is very true we produce less compared to other nations. The Kenyan farmer should strive to seek knowledge so as to know and understand the right products they need to use in every specific crop. This will ensure that they practice farming in a professional way paying attention to all the necessary parameters ranging from the right seed selection and correct crop Nutrition, Protection and general crop husbandry practices. Knowledge indeed Grows.

What challenges does Yara face in the market (fake and counterfeits, government policies etc)? How are you handling them? What would you suggest as permanent solutions?
We face numerous challenges and especially fake products and counterfeits and these cases occur every year especially during the subsidy fertilizer period but we have partnered with the right agencies including the Anti-counterfeit Agency and our partners in educating the farmer about the products so as to avoid the farmer purchasing the wrong products. Farmers also are aware of our specific distributors in their areas so this helps more in tackling counterfeits because they will purchase these products in specific accredited distribution points. We are working towards finding even better solutions for these challenges including installing technologies to detect and prevent counterfeighting. Infrastructure is also a challenge because it costs a lot to transport our fertilizers to areas with poor access, making the last mile delivery a challenge and costly. However, scaling up farmer knowledge still remains one of the biggest challenges and is the reason why Yara invests a lot in this area.

You have been in operation for more than two decades in Kenya; do you have any CSR programs?
Yes we do operate different CSR programs across the country. Just to mention some; we have a programs that support the conservation of the water towers and ecosystems such as the Aberdares, and Afforestation programs in Western and Nyanza regions. We also support other programs such as girl child support projects in semi Arid areas including Tharaka Nithi County to nature both talent and grow Agricultural productivity in the future generations.

Recently you acquired Urea plant in India from Tata Chemicals; this affirms the ongoing mergers and acquisitions. Is this beneficial to the Kenyan farmer?
To the Kenyan farmer probably not directly, but its possible that other fertilizer importers may directly import fertilizer to Kenya from such a facility. But for India, its also an opportunity to grow the Yara Farmer- Centric strategy in improving productivity.

To be in the cutting edge of these factors, how has Yara positioned itself in the next five years, how prepared are you for such changes and emerging ones in the industry?
Acquisition is not entirely the only way to grow. But investment in knowledge, sustainability, getting the farmer to access the product in time and being consistently present in the market, will definitely allow us to grow by default. Invetment in infrastructure such as the Huge Terminal in Dar-Es-Salaam will also improve access to fertilizers, reducing costs and improving farmer productivity eventually.

Customer complaints are part of any business, how do employees react to these unplanned crises?
“We have instilled the right capacity to our staff in line with our ethical values to serve and attend to our customers at all times. We have a great customer service team which handles any complaints that may arise and we are also in constant communication with our customers through follows up from our Agronomists and technical staff .

What else can you advice the country, counties, farmers and farm input suppliers so as to enhance food surplus within the country?
We all have to find ways to enhance the productivity of our farmers through knowledge creation and empowerment. The trade mentality to just sell a bag of fertilizer is certainly NOT the game for us at Yara, but rather sustainable business for both our farmers, distributors and ourselves.

Give your final comments?
For us farmer knowledge, productivity, sustainability and safety is central in our business. Through continuous research and development we commit to generating more knowledge, enhancing productivity and sustainability paying attention to the environment and the health of our soils. Welcome to Yara and be part of the change as we push towards farmer productivity and profitability.

With Yara , Knowledge Grows… !