(Ecofin Agency) - The Federal Government has inaugurated its Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, with the production of over 4,000 metric tonnes of locally-blended fertilizer in the initial week of operation. This was revealed in a statement by Laolu Akande, spokesperson to Acting president, Yemi Osinbajo.

Akande said the initiative aims to boost local production of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) fertilizer by reviving ailing fertilizer plants, and reviving the local blending fertilizer industry. It will also “make fertilizer available to Nigerian farmers at affordable prices and in time for the 2017 wet season farming, result in projected savings of US$200 million in foreign exchange and 60 billion in budgetary provisions for fertilizer subsidy and enhance food security as a result of the expected increase in food production.”

The spokesperson added that it will also reduce food-induced inflation, encourage economic activities across the agriculture value chain and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

Let’s recall that the initiative was approved in December 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari with the aim of producing 1 million metric tonnes of blended NPK fertilizer locally this year and reduce dependency of imports. The million tonnes targeted is to come in five batches of 200,000 mt with the first batch expected by the end of March.

Anita Fatunji