Fertilizers Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) has said that despite the increase in the local blending of fertilizer in the country, adulteration of the products continues without check.
The Chairman of FEPSAN and Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI), Thomas Etuh stated this on Wednesday at the stakeholders’ meeting for developing and implementing regulations for the National Fertiliser Quality Control Bill organized by Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja.
“With the increase in the local blending of fertilizer today and the growing demand for fertilizer, adulteration has been on the increase without any real check on the activities of these fraudsters,” he said.
The FEPSAN chairman, represented by Gideon Negedu, said he was worried that law enforcement agents are restricted in their ability to nip the “ugly trend in the bud due to weak enabling laws.”
He added that “this has seriously hampered and discouraged private sector investments because of the damage these activities have on reliable brands.”
He said that there are currently 18 functional blending plants in the country with an additional 11 underway across the nation with an annual capacity of 4 million metric tonnes.
Earlier in his welcome address, the AGRA Country Representative, Dr Makinde Kehinde stressed that for the country to achieve food security and income generation for the smallholder farmers, a vibrant fertilizer industry was needed to strengthen crop yield.
He stated that the fertilizer system in Nigeria was not properly developed, which leads to unregulated activities and quality control issues.
Dr Kehinde said AGRA was helping the country through reforms in order to improve the system that will ensure farmers have access to quality fertilizer in the country.
In his remarks, the Deputy Clerk of the Senate, Abdulazeez Yusuf, who was represented by Senator Abdullahi Adamu said that the National Fertiliser Quality Bill will soon be passed adding that the Senate attached serious importance to the bill.
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