The president of All Farmers Association, Kabir Ibrahim, has said Nigerian farmers can no longer afford fertilizers to apply on their farmers due to its high cost.
Kabir Ibrahim said under former
president, Muhammadu Buhari, between 2017 and 2020, farmers were able to purchase
fertilizer at cheap rates.
Ibrahim regretted that the US
dollar to naira exchange was responsible for why farmers could not afford to
get fertilizers.
In an interview with Arise TV
on Tuesday, Ibrahim explained that the Presidential Farmers Initiative (PFI) of
former President Buhari was beneficial to farmers, as it helped to make
fertilizers cheap for farmers to afford.
“I think during the Buhari
days, the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) was formed as a means to
make fertilizer available.
“Between 2017 and 2020, we
received fertilizer like Coca-Cola. It was all over the place. The price was
good. It was the first ₦5,500. After the pandemic, a further subsidy of ₦500
was given and we were buying it at ₦5,000.
“But from 2021 to date, it’s
been a problem. The farmers cannot afford it,” he said.
Ibrahim continued on the reason
for the high cost of fertilizer, “Well, the value of our currency went down and
most of these things are imported, the components that they mentioned.
“We had a pact with Morocco. We
were getting them at a very reasonable price and of course they were giving
discounts. I think our government appealed to them and then after that, we
began to import from other places at the prevailing market rates.
“Then the blenders had to make
up whatever money is expended. So it has been a bad situation from that to 2021
to date.”
He explained that flooding has
also been affecting farmers. He advised the federal government to return the
fertilizer subsidy. He stated that farmers should be able to buy fertilizers at
cheap rates like in 2017 for the country to have cheap food.
“Then of course, there are
mentions of the effects of climate change and all that. You know when you have
flooding, it even washes away the little fertilizer that you are able to put in
one place and all that.
“In fact, I was at this
meeting, we told them that we want the restoration of what we enjoyed between
2017 and 2020. Let the subsidy be. They really go down to the end users. We
want to be able to buy fertilizer all over Nigeria, like Coca-Cola, and it
should be affordable to us.
“That way, the hues and cries
from consumers will not be as much, because we have to recoup our investments.
The fact is that the insecticides, herbicides, the inputs like fertilizers,
even labor, we are now paying through our nose system,” Ibrahim said.
Post a Comment