Experts kick as FG moves to ban importation of fertilizer
Agricultural experts in Nigeria have warned the Federal Government to be cautious on its intention to ban the importation of fertilizers.
They argued that analysis on ground suggests that the current rate of fertilizer production in the country is insufficient for farmers’ needs.
In a circular released earlier by CBN through the Director of Trade & Exchange Department, Ahmed Umar, it was revealed that effective from December 7, 2018, the importation of fertilizer will no longer qualify for forex waiver.
It further said that the importation of fertilizer is banned in order to promote the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) that was established in 2016.
But the President of Yam Farmers, Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Prof. Simon Irtwange, said that the scarce availability of NPK fertilizers had already put a strain on farmers, and any outright ban on its importation will be disastrous.
“The challenge we have with most of these policies is that they come ahead of things that ought to have been done in the first place,” he said.
“We would have expected that the government allows fertilizer to be saturated in the market and more affordable before making such policy because the fact is that fertilizer supply chain is still facing many challenges.”
The Federal Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has always maintained a policy of banning importation of items it believes Nigeria has the capacity of producing locally.
If this policy is not well executed, it could lead to reduction in food production and cause inflation in the price of food across the country.
