Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse
The Federal Government announced on Wednesday a reduction in the price of fertiliser from N5,500 to N5000 as part palliative measures for farmers nationwide in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The head of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative and governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru, said at a press conference in Jigawa that the price cut to take with immediate effect.
“As part of the palliative measures introduced by Mr President to provide relief to Nigerian farmers on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the market price for the sale of PFI NPK 20.10.10 fertilizer to farmers and other end-users has been reduced from N5,500 to N5,000 per 50kg bag,” Mr Badaru said.
The governor said all necessary preparation for the successful implementation of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative is underway.
He added that a sufficient volume of fertilizer will be made available in time to meet the needs of Nigerian farmers for wet season farming, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Badaru said that between 2016 to 2019 the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative delivered about 19 million 50kg bags of NPK 20.10.10 fertilizer from 22 blending plants across 13 states.
“The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative has played a pivotal role in dropping fertilizer prices by at least 50 per cent, which resulted in substantial foreign exchange savings for the country,” the governor said
He added that the Initiative led to the reduction in food-induced inflation and the stimulation of economic activities across the agriculture value-chain, creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
“The presidential Fertilizer Initiative is currently gearing to deliver 12 million 50kg bags of NPK 20.10.10 fertilizer for the 2020 wet season. Also, in addition to NPK 20.10.10, the presidential Fertilizer Initiative has now expanded its scope to also produce other blends of NPK fertilizer to carter to the diverse fertilizer requirements of the Nigerian farmers.
“As of today, 15th April 2020. The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative has already imported enough of the two imported raw materials – Phosphate and Potash – to produce 8 million 50kg bags of NPK fertilizer, while the two raw materials sourced locally – Urea and Fillers – are delivered on an ongoing basis to the blending plants.
“Also, preparation for the 2020 presidential Fertilizer Initiative is underway with production having commenced across a number of 29 participating blending plants across 15 states,” Governor Badaru said.