Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, Bauchi State governor has subsidized the price of fertilizer during a launch of the 2021 farming season in Bauchi on Thursday.
Governor Mohammed directed the state fertilizer blending company to sell the commodity directly to the farmers, which he says will curb corruption and eliminate the bottleneck posed by middlemen and “shylock marketers.”
The governor who launched the new season at Soro, in Ganjuwa LGA, of the state directed that Urea fertilizer should be sold at the rate of N11 000 per bag as against the commodity’s current market value.
The Governor also directed that NPK brand of fertilizer should be sold at the rate of N9000 per bag as against its current price of N9500 per bag from the Federal Government.
Mohammed said his administration is will continue to provide an enabling environment for the farmers to prosper in the state.
Governor Mohammed said it was in his administration’s interest to promote agricultural production in order to ensure food availability in the state.
He said the move will also guarantee the nation’s food security, adding that with the availability of food, hunger and poverty will be subdued.
He said that in order to make the assorted fertilizer readily available for the real farmers across the state, the government has procured 100 trailers at the cost of over N120m which are to be sold directly to the farmers by the fertilizer company.
The Governor further said that his administration has committed a huge sum of money to the procurement of farming needs including pesticides and enhanced seedlings which will yield more produce to the farmers.
“We hope that what we have done will spur our farmers to come out and buy directly from the Government away from the shylock marketers who always capitalize on the situation to increase prices far beyond the reach of the peasants”.
The Governor also warned that government will deal ruthlessly with any official caught selling above the government prices calling on farmers to report anyone trying to make things difficult for them.
In her brief remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Saratu Musa Jibrin said that the Ministry will collaborate with the fertilizer blending company in the distribution of the commodity to the real farmers through direct sales.
The Permanent Secretary assured that every barrier that will militate against the smooth distribution of the commodity to the direct beneficiaries has been removed while the exercise will be closely monitored to ensure that it succeeded.
