FG’s fertiliser policy pushes Nigeria ahead, supplies regional, world markets

The federal government attributed Nigeria’s dominance of Africa’s fertiliser space to the implementation of its policies regarding domestic production. As at today, the country has about 70 fertiliser blending plants with combined capacity for over three million metric tons of NPK fertiliser across the country and production is expected to go up as more private […]

The federal government attributed Nigeria’s dominance of Africa’s fertiliser space to the implementation of its policies regarding domestic production.

As at today, the country has about 70 fertiliser blending plants with combined capacity for over three million metric tons of NPK fertiliser across the country and production is expected to go up as more private individuals are investing in the industry.

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Before the presidential fertiliser initiative (PFI) policy, most of the blending plants were down to less than 10. But now, some states like Kano have up to 12, Kaduna has more than seven plants according to Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN).

With regard to urea, the country has capacity for more than 6 million metric tons above what the domestic market can absorb.   

In an earlier interview with Daily Trust, the Director General of FEPSAN, Mr Gideon Negedu, said Nigeria no longer imports fertiliser but is self-sufficient in urea.

“We are a net supplier and exporter of urea. We produce, we don’t import a single bag of urea into Nigeria, it is banned. So, we have capacity as a country to produce six million tonnes of urea. Dangote’s capacity is about three million, Indorama is about 2.8. Last year alone, Notore, Dangote and Indorama produced about 2.2 million tonnes of urea, we consumed 1.3 of urea in Nigeria. So, there’s even too much if you ask me,” he said.

Sources from Notore, one of the main producers of urea fertilizer, said the company was already supplying the regional market.

Dangote’s three million capacity Lekki, Lagos plant has commenced exportation of Urea-based fertiliser to the U.S, India, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, according to Mr. Devakumar Edwin, the Executive Director, Strategy Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Group.

Few days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari expressed delight that the era of persistent shortage of fertiliser in the country was over, commending FEPSAN for partnering with the government in the very patriotic backward integration project of enhancing the agricultural value chain.

The president said his administration has made effort to limit overreliance on imports, ensure the availability of the commodity and achieve self-sufficiency in food production in the country.

“When this administration came to office in 2015, our focus was on three key areas; Security, Economy and tackling corruption.

“For every nation to have peace and prosperity, its economy must be inclusive.

“For Nigeria, a predominantly agrarian nation, having an inclusive economy meant we needed to prioritise the enhancement of our agricultural value chain.

“We quickly identified the persistent shortage of fertiliser as a key reason for the low yields experienced in our farms.

“This historical scarcity of fertiliser was due to our over reliance on imports and the inefficient participation of the government in distributing this essential commodity to the farmers,” he said.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said fertiliser remained a key input to achieving food security and in realisation of this, the apex bank had continued to place great importance on its availability and accessibility by farmers to improve yield, productivity and ultimately, output.

Emefiele revealed that a total of over N114.09bn had been disbursed to support the fertiliser industry in the last five years.

According to Emefiele, the CBN is working with majors in the industry, such as Dangote and Indorama, to ensure that they sell urea at discounted prices to the blending plants to ensure that the prices of fertiliser are moderated in the market.

“The bank will equally work with the blending plants to ensure that the blended fertilisers are made available to end-user farmers at affordable prices,” he said.

On CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the CBN governor said the bank had disbursed N941.26bn to 4.2 million smallholder famers cultivating 21 agricultural commodities on 5.4 million hectares of land across the country.

He added that for the 2021 wet season programme, the CBN disbursed N193.59bn to 923,699 farmers cultivating seven commodities on 1.16 million hectares of land.

According to Emefiele, the CBN currently has a balance of stock of fertiliser from the last planting season under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to the tune of 1.95 million bags and have committed additional 2.6 million bags for use during the 2022 programme.