FG pledges support for organic fertilizer production

  Farmers hail Eco-clean sapropel

The CEO, Marshal & Mitchel International Services Ltd, Mr. Sunny Onyeaso speaking on its potential nutrients to soil and yield to crops.

The Federal Government (FG) has reiterated its support for organic fertilizer based on its high demand and premium price importance to agriculture productivity in the world market just as the farmers under the umbrella of Federation Agricultural Commodity Associations (FACAN) have expressed happiness to the introduction of Eco-clean sapropel based organic fertilizer into the market.

The Minister of state Federal Ministry Industry Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar made the view of government known at the official lunch Eco-Clean Organic fertilizer (Sapropel-based) in Abuja, recently.

Hajiya Abubakar who was represented by Deputy Director (DD), supervisory division, Dr. Francis Alaneme said that the ministry was mandated to ensure that more investors go into organic fertilizer production for the purpose of meeting the big gap of fertilizer application standard as recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Her words: ‘’ the ministry is engaged to source for investors in organic fertilizer to fill in the gap that is existing in the low quantity of fertilizer usage in Nigeria by FOA standard of 200kg per hectare. Nigeria is still at 15kg-20kg per hectare. This gap needs to be filled by organic fertilizer’’.

She said that the ministry was formulating a national industrial fertilizer production policy with prominent position for organic fertilizer in view of its potential in terms of value addition to agricultural produce and soil nutrients, stressing that national production policy on organic fertilizer must be integrated into agricultural production for acceptable local consumption and export.

She added that the ministry’s mandate to industrialise the nation with value added food processing was in line with Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari and that the government has approved the adoption and usage of this eco-clean organic fertilizer product after satisfying all necessary soil laboratory tests for local application.

The National Secretary, FACAN, Alhaji (Dr) Dogondaji expressed happiness of farmers to finally have this product officially launched, pointing out that the feedback from the associations’ members was quite impressive with high acceptability after usage, adding that the product was very timely in view of orders recently received by FACAN members for the supply/exportation of ten different organically-produced commodities.

He advised that the company producing the product must be well prepared to meet the need of farmers in terms of adequate supply to ensure adequate availability at any planting season of the year.

In his address, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Marshal & Mitchell International Services Ltd, the producers of the eco-clean organic fertilizer, Mr. Sunny Onyeaso assured farmers of adequate supply saying that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) had been signed with an organic European company for the constant supply of materials in the next 30-40 years.