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Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria has commenced implementation of the National Fertilizer Quality Control (Control) Act 2019, which empowers it to jail importers, exporters, and distributors of adulterated fertilizer for a period of 5 years without an option of fine.
According to section 9 and 10 of the Act, a person who sells fertilizer supplements containing destructive ingredients or properties harmful to plant growth, when used according to the accompanying instruction or in accordance with the instructions contained on the label of the package in which the fertilizer or the fertilizer supplements, will pay a fine of N10 million.
While unveiling the Act in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, vowed to implement the sanctions regardless of who is involved, noting that farmers, over the years, had borne the brunt of poor yields as a result of fake fertilizers.
“For the farmers, they are to be protected against access to nutrient-deficient and adulterated fertilizers as well as short-weight bags of fertilizers. This is to ensure that farmers get value for every kobo spent on buying fertilizers for the farming,” he said.
Nanono added that to ensure that fertilizers produced and sold to farmers meet the required standards in terms of quantity and quality, they will proper documentation and licensing of all players in the fertilizer value chain to ensure traceability and accountability in the fertilizer delivery process.
“There will be deployment and re-training of more Fertilizer Quality Control Inspectors to add to the already trained over 150 officers to ensure proper monitoring and enforcement of the provisions of the Act and the regulations,” the Minister said.
“Service standards and complaint mechanism would be re-activated to ensure that services and feedback are timely provided to the vendors.
“Mobility would be adequately provided to the Quality Control Inspectors to ensure that the entire country is totally covered,” he added.
On his part, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Abdullahi Adamu, assured participants that the National Assembly would continue to implement laws to protect farmers from rampant destruction.
Meanwhile, a reviewer of the Act, Professor Yemi Akinseye-George, said the government should ensure full implementation of the laws and also carry out adequate sensitisation on the dangers of flouting the law.
