The Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria has developed a crop specific fertilizer for rice, soya beans and beans saying it is no longer profitable to give a blanket recommendation of fertilizer for crops.
The Executive Director of the institute, Prof. Mohammed Ishiyaku, who unveiled the fertilizers during a field day for the fertilization system research project sponsored by Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) said: “It has become very apparent now each crop desires its own very specific blend of fertilization that has shown a very high potential for so much profit for farmers.”
He said the project was a collaborative effort of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the private sector through the association of fertilizer producers and marketers.
“As an institute, IAR is pushing for it, such that it will be taken up by farmers so that it results in the increase in productivity for the farmers,” he said.
Similarly, Prof. B.B Tarfa of the IAR and lead researcher for the crop-specific fertilizer said 500 farmers each from Kaduna and Niger States were engaged in the research using five different crop specific fertilizers for Maize, Rice and Soya beans.
Tarfa said at the end of the research, two varieties performed optimally on the crops and the varieties have been distributed to the association of fertilizer producers and marketers association.
