…Revives ailing plants

…Let’s eliminate corruption, hidden costs- PEFSAN President

…Farmers cry out over high prices

Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

The President of Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Abubakar Kassim, called for the elimination of corruption and hidden costs in the production and distribution of fertilisers in order to make the commodity more affordable to farmers in the country.

He spoke at the Presidential Fertiliser Roundtable organized by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) today in Abuja.

According to him, “There are  hidden costs.  For instance, maybe the timing.  The time we buy the raw materials.  We can buy the raw materials at the time their prices are lowest.  Maybe the issue of storage at ports.  May the issue of bagging it in 50 kg bags.  Why don’t we use ton bags?

“May be the clearing costs at the ports.  We have brought out these issues and at our earlier meetings with NSIA, we have addressed some of them. 

“There are issues to do with foreign exchange volatility.  Sometimes NSIA wants to buy and takes a forward position. By the time they want to settle, Dollar has gone up.  We are thinking, we can want together so that we put together a fund and when we take that position, we take it instantly and they keep the foreign exchange until it is time to settle.  So that we can be insulated from foreign exchange fluctuations.  These are some of the hidden costs.

Wrong timing of releasing fertilisers

“Many times the timing is wrong, maybe because government releases are not done at the right time.  Maybe when they are released and get to the states or get to the distribution points, a lot of politics have come. 

Corruption in fertilizer distribution- AFAM

“You heard what the AFAM President said- that there is a lot of corruption.  You can’t deny that there is corruption in this country.  It is not business.  It is a different thing.  How do we bring in the stakeholders at the grassroots, for instance the farmers to insist that when the distribution is being done, fertilisers are given to them, directly, not to politicians, not to members of the National Assembly or State Assemblies, not to State Governors.  What we have seen for instance is that the fertilisers that the federal government gave to the states, some governors gave them out for free.  Some states sold it.  Now where is the check where you can say, this thing is free and must be given to farmers free?  I have seen cases where they say they are also commercial farmers.  Commercial farmers know where to get fertilisers.  The poor farmers don’t.”

Mr. Kassim noted that with the PFI, Nigeria has become a net exporter of fertilisers and that his members were poised to achieve greater production of the commodity, with a view to supplying the entire West African Sub-Region.

The Managing Director (MD) of the NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq , in a message said that the achievements of the PFI were beyond the numbers, as according to him, it had impacted the industry by revitalizing many moribund blending plants and made fertilizer available to farmers.

The MD who was represented by the Head, Corporate Planning, Mrs. Sybil Etuk, added that the initiative had helped the country to conserve foreign exchange, which should have been utilized in the importation of fertilisers; generated jobs in the country and empowered various players in the value-chain.

A representative of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Arc. Kabiru Ibrahim, cried out over the high prices of fertilisers in the country and corruption in the distribution chain.

His words, “There is corruption in the distribution chain.  PEFSAN should do something about it.  Some of the raw materials are also being sold to some criminals and they are using it to harm us.”

Latest market survey indicated that 50 kg bags of the popular blends of fertilsiers cost between N40, 000 to N52, 000 across the country, each.