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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has attributed Nigeria’s rising prominence as Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse to the implementation of the right policies by his administration.
The president stated this, yesterday, while receiving the Executive Committee, Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) at the State House, Abuja.
“With our over 70 blending plants operating, Nigeria is on its way to becoming Africa’s fertiliser powerhouse. And with our mega urea production facilities, Nigeria is definitely a global player in the urea space.’’
The president said this remarkable achievement, in a short period of time, had ensured steady flow of investments from the private sector into the fertiliser industry, enriching millions of Nigerians and good returns to investors.
He expressed delight that the era of persistent shortage of fertilisers in the country was over even as he commended FEPSAN for partnering the government in the backward integration project of enhancing the agricultural value chain.
He recounted steps taken by his administration to limit the over-reliance on imports, ensure the availability of the commodity and achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
“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.
“As a government, it was very clear to us that these practices needed to change. Nigeria is naturally blessed with most of the raw materials needed to produce fertilisers. Nigeria has all the skills and manpower required to convert these raw materials to fertilisers. With the right enabling environment, Nigeria has the entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in the sector. So we went to work. And as the chairman of FEPSAN mentioned in his remarks, the rest is now history,” he said.
The president said a key indicator of the success of his government’s policies is the fact that the country had no shortages of fertilisers during the global COVID-19 lockdown.
