Abubakar Aliyu Haruna, Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, has warned that the high price of fertilizer in the country will cut down the quantity of rice to be harvested at the end of this year’s farming season.
He said high fertilizer prices will take a toll on rice farmers in northern Nigeria.
However, fertilizer-producing companies in Nigeria said the skyrocketing prices of the commodity are unavoidable considering the investment that the companies made to import items used to produce fertilizer locally in Nigeria.
Malam Mas’ud Lawal, an officer with Barbados fertilizer producing company said they spent much money buying diesel coupled with Naira to Dollar exchange gap at the Forex Market, adding that these factors combined shut up the fertilizer prices in the country.
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This medium understands that Nigerian farmers’ economic woes further limit their ability to afford the commodity, which will invariably affect their purchasing power. “The harsh economic condition prevalent in the country at the moment does not spare us as farmers. We are struggling to meet the basic necessities of our families and farms. Incentives are not coming forthwith from the government,” a farmer in Bauchi cried.
WikkiTimes’ independent fertilizer price check at Muda Lawal market Bauchi reveals that one bag of NPK goes for N27,000; Urea N20,000 and Golden N26,000 respectively.
