Farmers suffer collapse of extension services

In Nigeria, Nitrogen-phosphorus-Potassium (NPK) and Urea are the two types of fertiliser government gives to farmers, but how many Nigerian farmers know when to apply either the NPK or Urea and the quantity to apply for specific crop type at a particular time, asked an expert working with Notore Fertiliser Company who requested anonymity because […]

In Nigeria, Nitrogen-phosphorus-Potassium (NPK) and Urea are the two types of fertiliser government gives to farmers, but how many Nigerian farmers know when to apply either the NPK or Urea and the quantity to apply for specific crop type at a particular time, asked an expert working with Notore Fertiliser Company who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with press.
“The quantity, timing and soil testing, in some cases, you could have a soil that is very rich in nitrogen, which does not need much Uriah.
In this case, what the farmer needs is a good dose of NPK. A lot of farmers do not have this knowledge,” the expert said.
There are international standards for the required amount of fertiliser to be used if farmers are to get optimum crop yield in a hectare.
For rice, the standard is 4 bags of NPK and 2 bags of Urea but in Nigeria, most farmers do not use up to one quarter of that standard requirement which is responsible for the low crop yield, he added.
Maize farmers are advised to stick to 2 bags of NPK and 1 bag of urea per hectare. While groundnut has a different fertiliser called Single-Supper-Phosphate (SSP) – a multi-nutrient fertiliser. The reason being that it is leguminous, it fixes nitrogen in the soil, so what the farmer need is single supper phosphate. But farmers even use NPK or Urea because nobody provides the needed information to them.
Yam farmers are advised to apply four bags of NPK and 2 bags of Urea in one hectare. But the application differs: one dosage of a match box for each heap of yam.
The practice where farmers apply fertiliser at once is not a good practice as farmers need to apply the NPK first of all to enable the development of roots until when the plant reaches fruit level, you then apply urea to enable it produce good fruits , which can give optimum.
In Nigeria because of the cost of fertiliser, farmers apply it once, which cannot give any significant result.
Worst still, the GES programme of the federal government where two bags of fertiliser are given to farmers without taking into account the crops they are cultivating, the soil type in the area they planted, are doing more harm to plants than good.
Why do Nigerian farmers get 2 to 3 metric tonnes per hectare when the South African farmers and others are getting up to 15 tonnes per hectare? The reporter put the question Michael Bala, an agriculturist in Masaka.
“Aside the fertiliser, farmers need improved seed which is really critical because if you buy fertiliser and you don’t have the right kind of seed to support it, the farmers would not get the required yield so he will believe that the fertiliser doesn’t work, which is equally another side of the  problem which farmers have no solution at site.”
He said in countries like Vietnam, Thailand, they have 8 to 10 tonnes per hectare, adding: “But then if you look at the volume of usage, in these countries, they even go above the recommended dosage required for fertiliser because they understand the value because for them, is a business.”
In terms of fertiliser types, he said farmers must first understand the different functions that deferent fertiliser play. Farmers should appreciate fertiliser, good seed and best practices often recommended for specific crop type, but who will give them the required information?