By Ahmed Kaigama
Farmers in Bauchi State have called on the Federal Government to check fake , substandard production of fertilizer.
Some of the farmers, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, also urged government to issue sales permit to operators.
Alhaji Babayo Ibrahim, a rice farmer in Bauchi, said that some plants in the country were blending without proper authorisation and mixing substandard components to produce adulterated fertilizer.
Ibrahim said that some merchants, who engaged in the fertiliser business, are not fully registered as required by the national fertiliser quality control law.
He called on government to get rid of adulterated fertiliser from the market and to ensure that no firm produces fertiliser without government’s approval.
Mrs Fatima Abdu-Misau, Treasurer, Small Scale Women Farmers of Nigeria (SWOFON), attributed the scarcity of raw materials to the high cost of the fertilizer.
She urged the Federal Government to source the two important raw materials locally through the Solid Mineral Development Fund to guide against future scarcity.
Abdu-Misua called on the Federal Government to address the challenges to enhance food production and food security challenges in the country.
Mr Samuel Luka, a farmer said substandard fertiliser and the increase in prices of fertilisers in the country, was affecting farmers, hence the need to support them.
“There is need for smallholder farmers to be provided with free bags of fertiliser in a package to effectively reduce their fertiliser cost per acre by at least 33.3 per cent,“he said.
He said that government must ensure that farmers have access to enough fertiliser to in order sustain food production in.
Luka appealed to government and international fertiliser producers, to make a commitment to the provision of fertilizers. (NAN)
