Zaria farmers, agro dealers sensitised on substandard fertiliser

From Aliyu Baban karfi, Zaria

Farmers and agro dealers in communities within and around Zaria in Kaduna State have been sensitised on the dangers of using substandard or adulterated fertilizer.

The sensitisation, Arewa Trust Weekly reports, was also aimed at educating agro-dealers on the National Fertilizer Quality Regulations.

Speaking at the programme, the Technical Officer, Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Mshelia Pengum said the National Fertilizer Quality Regulations 2019 was to strengthen food production and respect the interest of farmers as well as the agro dealers.

He noted with dismay that some unpatriotic members of the association were engaged in the production of low quality or adulterated fertilizers and engaged in some acts  tarnishing the image of the association.

“We are here to sensitise our members on the need to comply with the law and whosoever is found wanting would face the wrath of the law,” Pengum said.

Similarly, a staff of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Malam Musa Ibrahim, noted the importance of sensitising  agro dealers on the provisions of the National Fertilizer Quality Regulations before its full enforcement.

He lamented that some unpatriotic agro-dealers use the bags of companies with an established goodwill to perpetrate their nefarious activities thereby endangering the goodwill of such companies.

“Such practices negatively affect innocent farmers who buy such products by drastically reducing the yield of crops at their farms, which also have so many negative implications to food security in the country,” he said.

He advised agro dealers to register with the Farm Inputs Support Services Department to minimise such negative practices.

In his remarks, John Oluwaseun of the African Fertilizer and Business Partnership, an NGO said the sensitisation was aimed at ensuring farmers get access to high-quality agrochemicals and fertilizers towards achieving food security.