The Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) has planned to produce one million metric tonnes of NPK in 2018, the President of Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Mr. Thomas Etuh, has said.
Mr. Etuh said this at a meeting of FEPSAN registered distributors with Unity Bank of Nigeria Plc on access to finance.
Etuh explained that in 2017 the PFI produced 500,000 metric tonnes of NPK 20-10-10, while FEPSAN registered distributors were able to purchase about 60 per cent of fertilisers from blending plants participating in the programme at the price of N5, 000 per 50kg which they sold to farmers at N5, 500 across the country.
He, therefore, assured Nigerian farmers that there would be adequate supply of fertiliser this year. “Very soon, off-take will commence and we look forward to the distributors to ensure smooth delivery of the product to the farming communities at a better performance rate than last year.
“In the course of the PFI implementation in 2017, FEPSAN identified access to adequate finance by distributors to have been one of the major impediments to their business growth development and expansion. It is in view to ameliorating this challenges that FEPSAN took a bold step to ensure that registered distributors have access to finance so that they can purchase more fertiliser to meet the needs of the farmers and to invest in their businesses to expand their retail networks to the rural areas close to the farmers.
“In this regard, FEPSAN sought partnership with some commercial banks, and about three banks have agreed to partner with PFI to extend their funding facilities to the blending plants, logistic services providers and registered distributors. Unity Bank which is one of the banks in the meeting would interact with the distributors on what they have in the offing for the distributors,” Etuh explained, noting that the importance of distributors could not be overemphasised in the development of the fertiliser market, as well as for increased agricultural productivity.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the General Manager of Unity Bank, Bona Okhaimo, said the bank was committed to the growth and development of the agricultural sector.
Okhaimo said the partnership sought to give fertiliser distributors access to affordable credit so as to boost their business activities.
Croplife Nigeria, the umbrella association of agro-chemicals, has called on the Federal Government to stop multiple agencies from regulating its activities in order to achieve its agenda of food self-sufficiency.
Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, the president of the association, Alhaji Manhood Tauhid, said the association was not against regulations; but that being subjected to multiple regulations, taxes and levies from various federal agencies had not been easy for the association
Therefore, he appealed to the government to streamline the regulators to one as it is being practised in other parts of the world.
The multiple regulations, which according to Tauhid, started two years ago, was solely regulated by the National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) before the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) joined.
He said aside the strenuous process of registration with each of the agencies, members of the association paid “heavily” for licence, and that tariffs were paid to them as well.
By implication, he said agro-chemicals would be scarce, adding that the food production and the food security situation of the country would be affected.
“Due to multiple regulatory bodies, it takes up to six weeks to take our containers out of the ports and this affects the quality of our products. If government does not address the situation, farmers will continue to buy thrash and it will make them record losses which will translate to scarcity and hike in food prices. If government does not address the situation; it will persist,” said Tauhid.
Croplife chairman of Mentorship Committee, Mr. Martins Awofisayo, said several attempts had been made through letters to draw the attention of the NAFDAC Director General, the Director, Ease of Doing Business, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Minister of Agriculture to the plight of the 29 member companies in the association, but nothing had been done to correct the situation.
Members of the association said they worked with farmers to ensure weed control in rice, as well as a massive training of farmers on agro-chemicals usage to ensure zero reject on groundnuts, maize and brown beans.
The association, which is worth $600bn, solely imports agro-chemicals for use on crops during planting and storage, market agriculture inputs, ensure farmers use agrochemicals responsibly to prevent “rejection” during export, as well as ensure weed control during planting.
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