With the rain-fed farming season setting in, prices of fertilisers, one of the major agro inputs, are still high in markets in many parts of the country.
This is just as the Anambra State Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization, Processing and Export raised alarm over the circulation of uncertified agricultural inputs, mostly fertilisers, allegedly brought into the state by unscrupulous individuals.
It listed the fake agricultural inputs to include substandard fertilizers, rice seedlings and insecticides.
A statement from the ministry warned farmers, registered cooperative societies and others associated with the agricultural value chain against the purchase and usage of such fake inputs.
It said it is cooperating with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute those responsible.
The statement also warned that uncertified use of such inputs would be checked as Anambra soil has been tested and certified with specific input requirements to maintain safe and healthy farms
Access to fertiliser has been one of the major problems confronting farmers in the country as its price is usually beyond the reach of the ordinary people, especially those in the rural communities.
Previous government’s interventions have also failed to address this challenge as they usually come late, sometimes close to the harvest period.
To address the situation, the present administration set up a special taskforce called the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, which aimed at not only crashing the price of the commodity but making it accessible to the ordinary farmers across the country.
Recently, the initiative, anchored by the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), an association of all fertiliser producers and suppliers in the country, said it had begun the distribution of the farm input to farmers.
FEPSAN’s President, Mr. Thomas Etuh, said, “Delivery of finished products has started to arrive some states and agro dealers.’’
He told journalists that one million metric tonnes of NPK fertilizer (the national demand) will be accessed by farmers for the 2017 rain-fed farming season, adding that “the price has been pegged at N5,000 from the factory and N5,500 from dealers to farmers.
When Daily Trust visited some markets across the country recently, it was discovered that farmers buy other brands as the FGN’s N5,500 NPK fertiliser was in limited supply.
In Funtua, Katsina State, which has one of the blending plants for the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, some brands of NPKs in the market (Magic) go for N7,300 and TAK Agro, N7,300.
The Urea brand produced by Notore is sold at N7,700 and the brand by Indorama at N7,500.
This, though is a bit lower than what it was sold in 2016 (N9,000-N11,000) respectively.
Report from Sokoto says fertilizer (Urea) goes for N8,000 per 50kg and NPK N6,500.
In Benue, where one of the blending plants is located, the product is sold at between N5,500 and N7,500 at the open market depending on the brand.
In Kano, which has two blending plants (in Madobi and Kano) the input costs between N6,500 and N7,500 also depending on the producer.
Findings by our reporter at Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, showed that NPK, Urea and Phosphorus brands of fertiliser cost N8,000 each per 50kg bag.
A fertiliser dealer, Ahmed Shehu, said they were finding it difficult to access the commodity.
In Kaduna metropolis, a 50kg bag of NPK fertiliser is currently being sold at N9,500 in the open market, while Urea is sold at N7,500.
Agro dealers’ concerns
But agro dealers are concerned that transporting fertilizer from blending plants to distant areas might shoot the cost for them beyond the tagged price.
Speaking with journalists recently in Abuja, the National President, Agro Dealers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Kabiru Umar Fara, said delivering the fertilizer to the nooks and crannies of the country at the same price will pose a huge challenge for them.
“The blending plants in the country are not evenly distributed. Some states don’t have blending plants. The margin for the agro dealers is going to be very tight because if I want to buy Golden fertiliser for farmers in my areas, Golden fertiliser is in Lagos. I will spend N500 per bag to bring it here (because of farmer preference), which means I have nothing left as gain.
“Until FEPSAN and the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative think of how to subsidise the transportation, some states, local government areas and farmers will not get the product,” the agro dealers’ president said.
The dealers called on the Federal Government to revisit transportation and logistics costs. BY HUSSEIN YAHAYA.
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