The Bauchi and Gombe State governments have approved subsidies on fertilizer prices to ease access to the commodity as farmers begin cropping activities.
A check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi and Gombe showed that the sale of the commodity at the subsidised rate to the farmers had begun.
The NPK brand of fertilisers is being sold between N15,000 and N19,000 as against the former price of N27,000.
The Gombe State Government had pegged prices of the NPK brand of fertilisers at N19,000 per bag.
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The state governor, Inuwa Yahaya, on June 19, inaugurated the sale of the subsidised fertiliser to farmers across the state.
Yahaya said the state government expended over N2.8 billion on the procurement of the commodity.
NAN checks at the Gombe Main market showed that prices of the commodity varied depending on its quality.
A 25 kilogramme bag of the NPK-15-15-15 was sold between N24,000 and N27,000 while NPK 20-10-10 sold between N14,000 and N28,000.
A 50kg bag of Urea brand of fertilisers is sold between N21,000 and N25,000.
A cross-section of the farmers lauded the ward-to-ward fertiliser distribution model adopted by the government.
They described the gesture as “commendable”, adding that it would enhance access to the commodity and encourage productivity.
A rice grower in Nafada, Musa Alhaji, said the gesture assisted farmers by cutting down the cost of production.
This, he said, would enable them to save more money, source for other inputs and increase their production output.
“Some farmers bought the subsidised fertilisers which saved them between N5,000 and N9,000 per bag, depending its quality.
“So for every 10 bags of subsidised fertiliser, a farmer could save between N50,000 and N90,000; this is good no matter how small.”
Another farmer, Ibrahim Danladi, said that he had benefited from the similar gesture in the previous seasons.
Danladi urged the state government to expand the scope of farmer support services to mobilise participation in the programme.
Some farmers in Bauchi have also lauded the state government for making fertilisers accessible in the state.
A farmer, Rilwanu Bala, said the government achieved tremendous feat in making the commodity accessible and affordable to the farmers.
The gesture, he said, would encourage farmers to increase their production output.
“Fertiliser is now available and affordable to the farmers. We anticipate bumper harvest,” he said.
Another farmer, Ja’afaru Dauda, lauded Gov. Bala Mohammed for providing the commodity on loan to the workers.
“The action will encourage more civil servants to go into agriculture, enhance food security and wealth creation in the state,” he said. (NAN)
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