BY DAHIRU SULEIMAN, DUTSE.
The Federal Government has reduced the sale price of PFI NPK fertilizers to farmers from N5,500- N5,000 per 50 kg.
This was revealed by the Chairman Presidential Task Force on Fertilizers and Governor of Jigawa State, Alh. Badaru Abubakar while addressing press conference in Dutse.
He stated this was part of the palliative measures introduced by Mr. President to provide relief to Nigerian farmers on account of COVID- 19 pandemic.
Governor Badaru remarked that between 2016 and 2019, Mr. President’s PFI delivered about 19 million 50kg bags of NPK fertilizer from 22 blending plants across 13 states in the country, stressing that the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative has delivered significant benefits to Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
“Based on the fore going, we reassure Nigerians that all necessary preparations for the successful implementation of Mr President’s PFI are very much underway, and sufficient volumes of fertilizer will be made available in time to meet the needs of Nigerian farmers,” he said.
Governor Badaru also reiterated Federal Government’s move to resuscitate the country’s fertilizer blending industry, stressing that the industry has played a pivotal role in dropping fertilizer price by at least 50 per cent resulting in saving substantial foreign exchange for the country.
He stated that the PFI has now expanded its scope to also produce other blends of NPK fertilizer to cater to the diverse fertilizer requirements of the Nigerian farmers. “As of today, PFI has already imported enough of the two raw materials – phosphate and potash – to produce eight 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,” he said.
The Presidential Task Force assured Nigerian farmers timely availability of fertilizer for wet, among other seasons, especially to farmers of the North Eastern part of the country despite constraints placed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile preparations for the production of over 1.4 million bags of NPK across a number of 29 participating blending plants in 15 states has commenced.