GES fertilizers, inputs collected with fake SMS

A syndicate was said to have started sending the fake text messages similar to the ones the authorities are sending to registered farmers for the purchase of fertilizers and other inputs at subsidized rates under the ongoing distribution of fertilizer programme in the state, and that about 50 of such beneficiaries used the fake text […]

A syndicate was said to have started sending the fake text messages similar to the ones the authorities are sending to registered farmers for the purchase of fertilizers and other inputs at subsidized rates under the ongoing distribution of fertilizer programme in the state, and that about 50 of such beneficiaries used the fake text messages successfully to collect the inputs without the authorities realizing it.
“Some of the beneficiaries of the fraudulent act did not actually re-use their text messages but instead, some people that got such messages from the authorities, after collecting the commodity, forwarded same text to some people who used them to collect the commodity under the guise of being genuine beneficiaries,” an official told .
Confirming the incident, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Tasi’u Mohammed, said those that used the fake and duplicated text messages were traced and arrested, adding, “immediately we understood the problem, the coordinator of the programme raised alarm and we have arrested the suspects and they confessed that it was some others that forwarded the text messages to them.
“On the original text, we have some security code that does not appear again when the initial text is forwarded to another phone. There is negligence on the part of the redemption officials overseeing the distribution of the fertilizer. We held an emergency meeting and took some steps to reduce the problems.
“First, when a farmer collects his fertilizer, we issue him receipt and delete the SMS alert from his hand set. Secondly, we sensitized our officers to look out for the original secret code on each of the SMS alerts sent to the beneficiaries. Without the code, no alert should be honoured,” he said.
Though the commissioner could not say if the indicted beneficiaries of the alleged fraudulent act will be prosecuted or not, people that spoke to Daily Trust on the matter blamed government for failing to provide enough fertilizer for the farmers. Some of the farmers said officials of the federal Ministry of Agriculture told them last year that the two bags of fertilizer per farmer will be increased this farming season to four but only two bags are still being given.
But the commissioner said for this year’s wet season farming alone, the state is distributing 53,000 tons of fertilizer through the e-wallet system, adding that the increase in the quantity of fertilizer being distributed to farmers in the state is as a result of the registration of more farms under the GES programme.
He said the appointed fertilizer companies will supply the product at the cost of N5,900 per bag while the federal government is expected to subsidize each bag with N1,375 representing 25 percent, and the state government will provide a subsidy of 1,775 per bag translating to 28.3 percent, saying farmers in the state will enjoy a total of 53.3 percent subsidy on each bag of fertilizer as they will pay only N2, 750, 00 per bag.
He said the state registered 148,000 farmers for the GES scheme in 2012 out of which 104,058 accessed their inputs and in the 2013 farming season, the number of registered farmers increased to 539,657 and 68 agro dealers are participating in the GES scheme, adding, “one million bags of fertilizer is expected to be accessed by the farmers registered in the state in addition to seeds and agro-chemicals.”
The commissioner said Governor Isa Yuguda has approved N1.9 billion as state government contribution to the GES, adding that “all agricultural input supplies and agro dealers are ready for the commencement of the inputs supply to registered farmers. Already, 137,000 bags of fertilizer amounting to 6,850 metric tons have been supplied to various redemption centres across the state.”
He admitted that the fertilizer distribution exercise in the state came with a lot of challenges as some of the farmers registered in the state in 2012 could not get fertilizer allocation while some that registered this year and got alert for the allocation of the commodity could not find their names in the register. He said effort is being made to rectify all the problems, adding that some peoples’ names were missing from the list because they filled their forms with pen instead of pencil.
Speaking at the flag off of distribution of fertilizer for this year’s wet season farming at Kafin Madaki, the capital of Ganjuwa Local Government Area in the state, Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Bukar Tijjani said the federal government has registered 10 million farmers under the Growth Enhancement Scheme as part of the measures to achieve food security in the country.
The minister said since the inception of the GES programme, millions of farmers across the country were able to redeem their inputs through the system hence the need for all to embrace it.
Governor Isa Yuguda who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Sagir Aminu Saleh, reiterated the commitment of the state government to support agricultural transformation agenda of the federal government towards enhancing food security in the state.