By Jimoh Babatunde, with agency reports.

The priority of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is halving hunger and extreme poverty by 2015; this presupposes that Agriculture is one of the main stays of the economy that is essential to the attainment of the MDGs set by the Federal Government of Nigeria. However, to reduce the persistent hunger that is still prevalent in the country, there are some measures necessary to ensure food security in Nigeria, and one of the measures is the procurement and distribution of fertilizers to farmers during the farming season.

One may ask how an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Quite simple, it is rich in nutrients. From vitamins and carbohydrates to proteins, nutrients are packed into every single bite of an apple, which helps to keep humans well nourished and healthy. And how do we ensure the fruits and vegetables grown on farms are healthy with fertilizer nutrients?

The nutrients that are essential for human growth are also necessary for plant growth. Humans, animals and plants rely on a safe, healthy supply of food and nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for proper growth and development. Plant nutrients are the “food” that plants need to generate the food humans eat.

Major crop nutrients in fertiliszers are nitrogen, phosphorus and potash – all naturally occurring elements in the environment. Micronutrients are also required in smaller amounts by plants. These elements are critical to the growth, development and health of plants and influence food quality and health attributes that are important for human nutrition.

The function and contribution of each plant nutrient is very specific and one nutrient cannot substitute for another. The absence of any one nutrient in the soil can limit plant growth, even when all other nutrients are present in adequate amounts. Since the beginning of agriculture several thousand years ago, soil fertility has been of vital

concern. At first, men sought out areas with fertile soils, which they farmed until its fertility was exhausted and then moved to another area. With the help of fertilizer, farmers can now improve and predict soil health and crop yields.

No region in the world has been able to achieve food security without significantly increasing the use of fertilizer. The African continent accounts for 18% of the world’s cultivated land area but only 3% of its fertilizer consumption. Put another way, the average world fertilizer consumption is around 93kg per hectare of cultivated land, but Africa’s average consumption lags at 20 kg/ha.

The Sub-Saharan Africa fertilizer consumption dropped to 8% which was 0.6% of world consumption and a far cry from the target of 50%/ha by 2015 set by African ministers at the Africa Fertilizer Summit in Abuja.

Nigerian farmers utilise about 8-10kg per hectare compared with 200kg per hectare that is approved by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah disclosed recently in Katsina that Nigeria is among the lowest users of fertilizers in the world with an average rate of 10-13kg/ha of nutrient.

The Federal Government, conscious of the relevance of fertilizers to the farmers, particularly when there are different types of soils  in each geo-political zone, had come up with different policies since 1977 to date trying to make access to fertilizers by farmers in the country easy.

The Federal Government of Nigeria between 1977 and 1996 implemented an annual program of monopolized fertilizer procurement and distribution that was plagued by colossal wastage and diversions. In 1997, the sector was abruptly liberalized as the business of fertilizer was turned over to an unprepared private sector which initially was unable or unwilling to respond.

Consequently, fertilizer use fell from a peak of 1.2 million tons in 1992 to 56,708 tons in 1997. A federal subsidy was reintroduced in 1999 at a level of 25% and continues at this rate today. In addition to the Federal Government subsidy, states further subsidizes as they deem necessary. There is clear evidence that a large majority of the subsidized products do not reach those it is intended for, or if it does, it is either delayed to a point of being of little use.

The question then is how do Nigerian farmers get access to fertilizers among other agricultural inputs to increase crop yields and quality as well as farmers income? To many, government’s involvement in fertilizer purchase and distribution is one of the many reasons for low consumption of fertilizers as the system is heavily politicized, with many politicians using fertilizer supply and subsidies to garner votes and reward patronage.

This has implications beyond low fertilizer consumption. Firstly, the subsidies, which cost the government dearly, very often benefit the wrong people.

During the 2008/2009 farming season in one state, PropCom, an innovative market driven programme funded by DFID, established that 10% of farmers received the government subsidized fertilizer and, of those, over two-thirds paid 40% more than the state subsidized price. It is said that almost 90% of the state’s subsidy, worth about N2.3 billion, was ‘wasted’ on unintended beneficiaries.

For Engr. Olumide Ayinla of the All Farmers Association of Oyo State, the distribution of fertilizers has not been effective in the country as most of the time, the products get into the wrong hands who later sell at exorbitant prices. PropCom even discovered that the distributors receiving the subsidized fertilizer usually sell it at open market prices. Consequently, they make abnormally high profits and may hoard fertilizer rather than sell it for less than the market price. Olumide Ayinla said: “The possibility of fertilizers reaching us is difficult. The distribution of fertilizers in Nigeria has not been that effective, because most of the time the fertilizer does not get to the final consumers which are the farmers.”

To him, one way of making sure the products get to them is through the elimination of middle men. “I think the government has to look at the way the distribution is carried out, possibly by cutting off all the middle men.” Engr. Ayola disclosed that farmers in Kaduna State had problem with fertilizers as those bought by the government fell into the wrong hands. “Ahead of 2010 farming seasons, the Kaduna State Government procured 65,000 metric tonnes of fertilizers, but the farmers found it difficult to access the commodity and were forced to buy in the open market at the price determined by the middle men.” He said apart from the mode of distribution which favour certain parts of the federation, members of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria find it difficult to get the fertilizers at the right time.

This was corroborated by Prince Ikey Ubaka of All Farmers Association of Nigeria in an interview with a national TV when he said: “When it comes to distribution, it is not timely. Nigeria is so vast that the rain starts early in the south, in the rain forest zone, and when we are planning, we are supposed to have free budget providing for agriculture inputs in the south and move up north as the rain ascends to the north.”