Some farmers in the North-East have expressed concern over difficulties experienced in accessing fertiliser due to its unavailability and price.

The farmers, who spoke in Bauchi, Damaturu, Gombe, Maiduguri and Yola, said the situation would result in low yields at harvest.

Farmers in areas prone to insecurity now rely on close-by, often overstressed lands to farm in resettled communities, thus, making a significant surge in demand for fertilisers to boost soil fertility.

The farmers’ concerns stem from their inability to access fertilisers such as Urea and Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorous (NPK) due to exorbitant prices.

The situation was further compounded by the ban imposed on the circulation of granular fertiliser in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe to prevent Boko Haram insurgents from accessing granular fertiliser to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

A NAN check in markets across the region showed that prices of the commodity had shot up by over 100 per cent in the last year.

A 50-kilogram bag of fertiliser was being sold between N25,000 and N35,000 as against its previous prices of N15,000 during the last cropping season.

Sabo Bappa, a smallholder farmer in Askira-Uba, Borno, attributed the scarcity of fertiliser to the drastic drop in commodity supply and urged the government at all levels to adopt practical measures toward enhancing access to fertiliser.

Fatima Misau, treasurer, Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) in Bauchi State, said fertiliser prices had shown a spiralling increase amid growing demand since the commencement of the rainy season.

Similarly, Samuel Luka, a maize grower in Bauchi, said many farmers now rely on cow dung and chicken droppings to nourish their farms as they could not afford exorbitant fertiliser prices.

To address the problem, state governments in the region embarked on distributing granular and liquid fertilisers to farmers at subsidised rates.

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno said the state government could not distribute subsidised granular fertiliser to farmers due to the ban imposed on the commodity.

In Adamawa, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Umaru Daware, said the state government had procured 54,000 litres of organic liquid fertiliser for 2022 wet season activities.

He listed the products to include NPK, Urea brand of fertiliser and Folier rice, adding that it would be sold to farmers across the 226 wards at subsidised N4,000 per bottle as against the N6,000 in the open market.

Also, Adamu Muazu, programme manager of the Adamawa Agricultural Development Programme, said experts had certified liquid fertiliser to be safe and environmentally friendly, capable of increasing farm yields.

Shehu Jabdo and Usman Michika, both farmers in Adamawa, commended the state government for the introduction of liquid fertiliser in the state.

They said the initiative would end scarcity, encourage agricultural productivity and deal farmer/herder clashes in the state.

In Bauchi State, the state government has commenced the distribution of fertiliser to farmers at subsidised rates.

Governor Bala Mohammed, who inaugurated the exercise, said NPK fertiliser would be sold at N15,000 and Urea at N20,000 per 50kg bag.

Moreso, the Gombe State government has so far distributed 72,000 bags of assorted fertilisers to assist farmers for 2022 wet season activities.

Alhassan Fawu, chairman of Fertiliser Distribution Committee, said the move was to reduce the effect of the high prices of the commodity on farmers and boost food security.

He said that NPK brand of the commodity would be sold at a subsidised rate of N19,000 per bag.

To further improve the supply of the commodity, the Yobe government announced that the rehabilitation of its moribund fertiliser blending plant had reached the 95 per cent completion stage.

For his part, Ibrahim Gare, chairman, All Farmers Association Nigeria (AFAN) in the state, described farmers’ lack of access to fertiliser as a major bane towards sustainable agricultural development in the country.

(NAN)