Agriculture stakeholders in the Northwest have predicted that the high cost of fertilizer this year is likely to have a negative impact on the harvest and price of farm produce.

Some of them who responded to a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Katsina, noted that most farmers could not afford the commodity, a development that would affect the yield in their farms.

The stakeholders observed that apart from a hike in the price of fertilizer, there were other factors such as the late supply of the commodity by the authorities, as well as the inability of the few fertilizer blending plants in the states to perform optimally.

According to one of the stakeholders, the development has resulted in farmers abandoning crops like maize and others that require more fertilizer to cultivate, hence the scarcity of such products should be anticipated.

However, as part of efforts to address the challenge, some state governments initiated measures to ensure the availability of fertilizer and one of these states is Kaduna.

Mr. Bage Bungwon, Director, Agricultural Services, Kaduna state Ministry of Agriculture, said that the ministry was collaborating with five fertilizer blending plants across the state to ensure the availability and affordability of the commodity.

He listed the five blending plants as Matrix Fertiliser Ltd, Barbedos Fertiliser Services, OCP Fertiliser, Tak Fertiliser, and Golden Flour Mills Fertiliser, adding that each had a production capacity of between 120,000 to 500,000 metric tons.

Olajide Aogo, Managing Director, Matrix Fertiliser Ltd said that at full production, the plant could blend about 150 tons (3,000 bags of 50 kg) per hour.

Kashim Shetima, Chief Executive Officer, Barbedos Fertiliser Services, said prices of raw materials and transportation logistics had been on the increase, thereby causing a hike in the price of fertilizer.

He lamented that the Covid -19 pandemic and the Russia / Ukraine war had affected the cost of raw materials.

Samaila Musa, a fertilizer dealer, said the retail price of fertilizer is between N28,000 and N30,000, up from its former price of N16,500 earlier in the year.

Abdullahi Bagudu, Chairman, Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Kaduna State chapter, said the high cost of fertilizer would affect the cost of farm produce.

Alhaji Aminu Muhammad, Administration Manager of Kano Agricultural Supply Company (KASKO), identified an increase in the cost of raw materials and transportation as being the major causes of the increase in the price of fertilizer in the country.

Muhammad said that the company produced about 25 metric tonnes annually on average, adding that the commodity was being sold to dealers and individual farmers at N16,000 per 50kg bag.

On his part, the Commercial Manager of the company, Alhaji Musa Yusuf, urged the Federal Government to revive the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, which was aimed at supporting local blending plants to boost the production of the commodity.

Yusuf also said that the high cost of diesel was another reason for the increase in the price of fertilizer.

Meanwhile, as the rainy season reaches its peak period, the Sokoto state government has yet to inaugurate its committees on the sales of fertilizer across the state, thereby causing a delay in the sales of the commodity.

NAN recalls that Gov. Aminu Tambuwal on Aug. 8, this year, launched the 2022/2023 sales of fertilizer across the state, announcing that each 50kg bag would be sold at N13,000.

Some farmers, Yusuf Mai-icce, Hamisu Garba, and Nasir Ahmed, who spoke to NAN in Tureta town, expressed displeasure over the delay in the sales of the commodity.

They lamented that their crops needed enough fertilizer and that they could not afford to buy the same in the open market because of the high price.

In Zamfara, stakeholders attributed the high cost of fertilizer in the country partly to the closure of indigenous blending plants.

The Chairman of the Fertiliser Dealers Association in the State, Ahmad Hussain said that most of the local fertilizer blending plants in the country had been shut, resulting in a shortfall in the supply of the commodity.

According to him, the major sources of supply of fertilizer in the country now are Lagos and Rivers states.

Also, the Chairman of the Maize Farmers Association in the state, Alhaji Abdullahi Nakwada, said the maize production this year would be very low as the crop required a lot of fertilizer,

“As I am talking to you today, a reasonable number of maize farmers had shifted from maize farming to other crops that require less fertilizer”, he said.

A seasoned farmer in Zamfara, Ibrahim Gammu, described the increase in the price of fertilizer as alarming, saying the commodity had become unaffordable to most farmers, especially in rural areas.

Alhaji Musa Danhassan, a major agro products dealer in Katsina, said unless the government took steps to tackle the problem of the high cost of fertilizer, the cost of food items would hike astronomically this year.

Danhassan, who is also the Chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in Katsina state, said 50kg bag of fertilizer sold for between N28,000 and N30,000, an amount most rural farmers could not afford.

On its part, Kebbi State Government said it procured 128 trucks of fertilizers for sale to farmers at a subsidized rate this farming season.

Alhaji Maigari Dakingari, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in the state said each bag of fertilizer cost the government over N23,000, but that same was being sold to farmers at a subsidized rate of N15,000 per bag.

Kebbi State has no fertilizer blending plant.

Dakingari added that the government had formed committees at both Local Government and ward levels, which were saddled with the responsibility of distributing the commodity to farmers.

“Our intention is to see that small-holder farmers get the commodity at a subsidized rate without hitches; the commodity is being distributed to all the 225 wards across the state, with each ward getting 250 trucks,” he said.

The Commissioner pledged that large and medium-scale farmers, as well as other stakeholders, would be taken care of at the state level.

Meanwhile, a cross-section of farmers in Kebbi State has appealed to the government to always ensure the distribution of fertilizer before the commencement of the rainy season.

One of them, Malam Baballe Ila, said early supply of the commodity would not only boost the morale of farmers but would also enhance national food security.

He lamented that fertilizer and other farm inputs usually arrive after the rain had already set in, noting that most times, distribution of the commodity took place mid-way into the farming season.

Ila advised the authorities concerned to change the narrative for the good of farmers and the farming business.

In his contribution, another farmer, Malam, Nasiru Nuhu, urged the government to reverse the trend of late supply of fertilizer, to enhance the productivity of farmers.

“Late supply of fertilizer is affecting the seasonal cultivation, as well as yield, thereby endangering national food security”, he said.