Bags of fertilizer
Image Credit: Premiumtimesng
ABUJA- THE Federal
Government has said it would shut down fertiliser producing plants who are into
diversion of the essential commodity meant for farmers.
This threat issued by
the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, yesterday,
following allegations that one of the two big urea plants in Nigeria were
producing for export while selling to Nigerian farmers at skyrocketed prices,
making affordability and accessibility difficult.
He said: “Two urea plants are
big enough to run the Nigerian demands. We know their capacities. But where
there are allegations that some people are exporting instead of putting in the
Nigerian market, and prices shot to N10, 000 per bag of urea, we became
extremely angry with them.
Thank God now, many of them have started producing
and putting into the market and the price is already dropping. “But, we are
warning against the future. There can’t be any priority but the Nigerian
market.
If there is a surplus, they are free to export, but, unless and until
there is a surplus. “We can’t sit by and watch people selling fertiliser beyond
the shores of Nigeria when the local farmers have nothing to buy.
And we are
saying the same to others. The priority is the Nigerian market.” The Minister
appealed to the producers of fertiliser to be considerate and give priority to
local demand for food production and also the big market in the country for
their product. “There is a good market.
There is no reason to side-track this
market and go and create difficulties for farmers, because there is hunger in
the land and government is taking the blame. And we are giving every support we
can to people who want to manufacture locally; and we will always give.
So, we
need absolute cooperation from all of them”, he stated.
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