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 Government plans to spend N80 billion to import rice at a time when fertilisers are going beyond the reach of the farmer despite N21 billion spent on subsidies in six years.
Nigeria’s hope of attaining food sufficiency is under threat, following global warning of food shortages. The imminent food crisis here is made worse by the trouble over the distribution of fertiliser for this farming season. Already the rains are here, but while the fertiliser contractors are smiling to the bank, price of farming input is climbing beyond the reach of the farmers. As this happens, the price of staple foods, especially rice is skyrocketing by the day. When recently the federal government announced a plan to set aside N80 billion to import rice, not a few saw it as a strategy to stave off the current fears over hunger hovering over the nation’s clouds. Even with the planned importation, many Nigerians are wondering why it should take a drastic situation for the government to resort to a panicky measure. With the prices of foods soaring and the farmers made to pay heavily for a commodity that is heavily been subsidised by the government, people are beginning to get concerned over what is happening in the agric sector. From 1997 to 1996, the government was in full charge of procurement and distribution of fertiliser. Besides the colossal wastages, over invoicing, diversion, theft on transit, adulteration, dumping of fertilizers in odd places and smuggling to neighboring countries, the efforts by the government to ensure that farmers get the adequate fertilizer on time hardly succeeds. Stakeholders were later to advocate for the removal of subsidies. This was to lead to a near disaster as farmers suffered from the lack of the commodity. The liberalization of the fertiliser procurement created a vacuum. "The fertilizer supply situation recorded its lowest level between 1997 1998 when the sub-sector was liberalized. From consumption level of1.2 million metric tones in 1992 down to 56,7081nt in 1997," states a report obtained from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Following outcries from government over hardship in procuring the product, the Obasanjo Administration in 1999 resolved to re-introduce subsidies on fertiliser. This was to redeem campaign promises in providing affordable fertilizers to the farmers; and restore stability in the fertilizer sub-sector, so as to support the declining trend in crop production. The Obasanjo government, according to a report released from the government, approved a Fertilizer Revolving Account for FFD to administer. In a bid to ensure that farmers get the products, the government identified key channels in the distribution networks. The channels are State Ministries of Agriculture, Agricultural Development Projects, River Basin Development Authorities, National Special Programme on Food Security from 1999 to 2006 and Farmers Associations. Despite the current efforts being pursued by the government, the problems of making available the product to farmers is becoming quite herculean. Not only are farmers being ripped off in the purchase of fertilisers, the government has since 1999 spent a whooping sum of over N21 billion on subsidies. Reports from various parts of the country indicate that farmers are being forced to buy the product at exorbitant rates. From Kebbi state, anyone interested in buying must cough out N4000 for a bag of urea; N3000 for a bag of NPK also known as Camphor and N2400 for one bag of Super variety of fertiliser. In Borno state, farmers are made to pay N2700 as the highest price for a bag of fertiliser. A market survey conducted in Gombe on the prices of fertilizer prices revealed that there was an increase in the prices of this year’s product compared to that of last year. Speaking to Sunday Trust, Alhaji Ishiaku Mai-Taki in Gombe Main Market said that a bag of Urea, golden NPK and NPK 1515 each sells for N4400, N5400 and N4500 whereas Super brand of fertiliser cost N4000. According to him, there was about 20 per cent increase compared to the last year’s prices. Contacted on the issue, Gombe State Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. David Albashi, said government was yet to fix the prices of fertiliser products in the state but hoped to do so soon. But even with this, there have been fears expressed in various quarters as the quality of fertiliser in the market. Apart from allegations that sometimes some contractors are involved in backhand dealings to short-change the farmers, there have been calls by some Nigerians on the Agric ministry to monitor the quality of the product. The Gombe state chapter of All Farmers Association of Nigeria recently called on the Gombe state government to scrutinise the quality of fertiliser supplied by contractors. Making this call in Gombe, Alhaji Aliyu Abare, the association’s secretary said it was necessary for government to scrutinise the quality of fertiliser so as to ensure strict adherence to the prices of the commodity. "The quality of fertiliser distributed last year was questionable. Government should monitor the contractors and if possible, carry out analysis of their products before accepting them," he added. Malam Abubakar Madaki, a maize farmer in Gombe corroborated Abare’s claim. and also criticised the quality of the fertiliser sold to them last year. He told NAN that a substantial percentage of the crops on his 20 hectare farmland in Gadam village turned "yellowish" after applying the fertiliser. In 2008, the Yar’adua government realized the need to ensure the resuscitation of agriculture and resolved to increase provision of various types of fertilizer to farmers from 528,000mt to 650,000mt. This is to stave off the re-occurrence of the crop failure experienced in 2007 season. In an attempt to shore up the prospects of farmers getting the commodity for the 2008 farming season, the government announced an increase in the procurement of various types of fertiliser to farmers from 528,000mt to 650,000mt to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2007 farming season. Speaking to our correspondent, the Chief Press Secretary to the Agriculture Minister, Mr. Kingsley Agha, said that the federal government is committed to the procurement and distribution of the fertiliser to all parts of the country. He said that the government has evolved a channel of distribution through the states and local government. He explained that all fertiliser procured by the federal government is channeled through the appropriate authorities and if there be any enquiries, it should be a question the states should answer. At a closer examination, the states have turned the fertiliser issue as a platform for rewarding political loyalty and patronage. Though some state governments have evolved a distribution channel, our correspondent was informed that those given the responsibility of ensuring that people at wards and village levels get the commodity are frustrating the efforts. There is no doubt that in spite of efforts to ensure that farmers get fertiliser at affordable rates, the issue which has become politicized may take a long time to resolve. With the state governments sometimes refusing to pay their own part of the bargain in procuring fertiliser, not many Nigerians believe that the matter is about to be resolved. Meanwhile the plan to stave off starvation in the country kicked off last Tuesday when the federal government announced that it intended to vote the sum of N80 billion to import rice into the country. The move is coming on the heel of global concerns over food crisis. Taking into cognisance the poor harvest recorded by farmers last year, 2008 may become a trying period in the effort of the government to ensure sufficient food for its citizenry. According to the federal government, the N80 billion voted for the rice importation is to be released from the Natural Resources Fund to import 500,000 metric tones of rice. To bring the current panicky situation over food supplies in the country, the government approved the release of remaining grains and other food items from the National Strategic Food Reserve to the public. The plan is to bring the price of rice to N6,000 per bag as against the present price of N12,000. President of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RFAN) Alhaji Abubakar Wodi says the plan to import the rice is elitist and claimed that such approach may prove little help in ensuring food sufficiency for the nation. He recalled the past efforts of his association to ensure a boost in the production of rice but public officials frustrated such moves. "Nigerian farmers have never had a glut in rice market. Whatever we produce is always being consumed. And if you look at the crisis today, is more about the foreign rice than the local rice. It’s an elitist thing. If you take a census of how much each state in stock, how much padding each state has, we’ll then suggest to government what is to be done. If it demands going to buy the machines to go and mill that rice, process it there and sell it there, we’ll do that. By the time the imported one arrives, we’ll brace up and produce enough locally. After this year, we won’t want anybody to bring rice into this country," the RFAN boss said. The Abuja Discussion Forum believes that realities on ground indicate that the government should move fast to tackle the impending fears over food shortage. The group, headed by Alhaji M. M. Abdu, comprises former ministers Umaru Dembo and Murtala Aliyu; Senator Rufai Hanga; Prof Munzali Jibril; Hon Dauda Abari; and Mr. Simeon Ijaja among others. "The food crisis is a reality and is already being felt by the public long before the months of June, July and August, the period perennially associated with food shortage…. Beyond the importation of Rice therefore, it is imperative that governments, at all levels bring to fore the issue of food security seriously by taking long-term measures that prevent future panic and make the country food-secure. The effort to import food items in bulk will not adequately address the problem. Other items such as wheat for the production of bread and maize for the production of livestock feeds are not in the list," the forum said in a statement in Abuja yesterday. Also, former governor of Kebbi State, Senator Adamu Aliero, criticized the federal government’s planned importation of rice, insisting that it would not meet the targeted objective of providing enough food for the country. Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria in Birnin Kebbi, Aliero said there was no reason to justify government’s decision to commit N80 billion for the importation of rice. Describing the importation exercise as a cosmetic approach to resolving the problem, Aliero said that instead of importing rice with such huge sums of money, the government should have channelled such funds to enhance local production of rice. As the nation looks forward to the arrival of the rice which is expected latest June ending, many Nigerians are expressing the hope that the commodity may not go the way of the fertiliser distribution. Other Nigerians have also expressed the need to ensure vigorous monitoring and supervision of the planned rice importation to avoid a situation where the exercise would be hijacked by politicians. The Abuja Discussion Forum called for concerted efforts to tackle the problems of food crisis from a viable perspective. "The provision of other items such as wheat, maize and livestock feeds in addition to rice, to be available to the population before the next harvest season especially during the months of June, July and August; provide inputs and all the necessary support to farmers especially fertilizer within a month to encourage and enhance food production so that the nation will be less dependent on imports; inject enough support to the river basins for mass food production and positive engagement of our citizens; build or complete the Reserve Facilities to a reasonable capacity that will carry the nation through the trying years and beyond; establishing sustainable stabilization mechanism by arranging to mop up any excess produce, if any, after next harvest, to prevent price crash of agricultural produce, among other measures," the group said. As Nigerians await the arrival of the rice expected to cushion the effect of the global food crisis, not many Nigerians are expressing optimism that the commodity may be spared the hassles of fertiliser debacle. With the state of agriculture remaining undeveloped, both Aliero and Wodi insist that the planned importation of rice may not provide a long term panacea in answering the country’s strategy for self-sufficiency in food production.
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