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The federal government has stated its plans to implement the Fertilizer Quality Control Act 2019 to boost food production in the country.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, assured farmers and investors of the government’s plan in effecting the bill.
He stated this at the training of inspectors and laboratory technicians/technologists on Implementation of the National Fertilizer Quality Control Act 2019’ in Abuja.
Umakhihe noted that the fertilizer inspectorate was conceptualised to give the Farm Input Support Services Department of the ministry a strong presence at the state level which is critical to the successful implementation of the bill.
“For Nigeria, the agricultural sector is one of the key drivers of the economy, and a strong and vibrant agricultural sector is needed to ensure job creation, wealth augmentation, and the production of adequate food for our over 200 million population,” he said.
“Fertilizer as a powerful productivity-enhancing input is critical to building the vibrant agricultural sector we desire. To refocus the sector, the government started some policy reforms aimed at positioning the fertilizer subsector to play a pivotal role in the Nigerian agricultural transformation,” he added.
“One of the earliest reforms was the complete withdrawal of government from procurement of fertilizer and the support of the private sector to take the lead while government facilitates, as well as provides supporting infrastructure, systems, control processes, and oversight,” Umakhihe said.
The minister pointed out that in a bid to domesticate the blending of NPK fertilizer in Nigeria, the government banned the importation of finished mineral fertilizer containing two or three fertilizer elements (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) into the country.
“To further strengthen the fertilizer industry, Mr. President signed the National Fertilizer Quality (Control) Act, 2019 into law to provide an improved regulatory framework for the manufacture, importation, sale, and distribution of fertilizer in Nigeria. The implementation of the Act has necessitated the deployment of 170 Fertilizer Inspectors Nationwide to facilitate the enforcement of the provisions of the Act,” he added.
