The Organic Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (OFPSAN) has called for the disbandment of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI), noting that it has failed in its purpose.
Noel Keyen, the National Chairman of OFPSAN made the call during his online presentation on the topic “Presidential Fertilizer Initiative 2017-2021: The unanswered questions’ organised by Journalists Go Organic Initiative.
Keyen said that the PFI has failed and should be largely replaced with a more viable and sustainable organic option that is globally accepted with several all round advantages.
The initial processes of PFI that is led by Governor Abubakar Badaru have obviously been hijacked by middlemen reducing NAIC’s role to importation of raw materials , storage and wholesale of raw materials to blenders.
“The initial idea of PFI was to eliminate the huge fertilizer subsidy burden of the FGN, create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and alleviate the plight of domestic farmers by ensuring availability of fertilizers.
“Would Nigerians say that any of the listed objectives have been achieved?”, he queried.
Furthermore, he said “It is clear that the incentives approved by Mr President for the PFI and its Nigerian Co-Operators from inception and later modified is a reflection of the fact that President Buhari meant well for the Agriculture sector, excepting for the fact that we faulted his exemption of the organic fertilizers sub-sector”.
Keyen said that there are many unanswered questions that the presidency needs to address concerning the PFI headed by Governor Badaru.
“Why is it that in phase 1 of PFI operations, prices of fertiliser crashed from N10,000 to N5,500? Is it in any way linked with when NAIC was paying FEPSAN members a blending fee while raw materials were subsidised for them to lift , process, sell and pay later through NAIC?
“Has it been made clear to all Nigerians if the funds taken from our commonwealth domiciled with NSIA and CBN utilised in the entire PFI program have been repaid fully by the blenders through NAIC or Fed. Ministry of Finance or CBN?
“If 30million bags of fertilizers were produced within three years and blending plants grew from 7 to 44 as at May 2021, what are the growth statistics of both factors in the last average of 1 year? Why has the price gone up astronomically to be between N20,000= to N25,000= per a 50kg bag?
“What really informed the phase 2 restructuring of the PFI with the NSIA taking the frontal role of importation of raw materials, storage and wholesale supply to FEPSAN blenders which is totally the opposite of phase 1?”, he wondered.
He further wondered why NAIC-NPK limited created in 2016 by NAIC for the PFI operations spun off in may 2021 to the Federal Ministry of Finance?”Does it have anything to do with its inability to recover outstanding debts from blenders for phase 1?
“Why is the status of NAIC=NPK Ltd totally unknown in the phase II restructuring and has remained so to date?
“If by 2021, 44 blending plants were functional Nationwide and the NSIA became fully in charge of importation, storage and wholesale of raw materials, why are the blenders not producing enough and distributing their products to be made available and affordable everywhere, even below the much applauded N5,500 per bag?
“Was the CBN fully committed to providing, real time, all the FOREX required by NSIA for the importation of all the needed raw materials; are the strategic warehouses of NSIA currently overflowing or empty?”
The Chairman also wondered at the numerous blenders forthcoming with their bank guarantees to collect raw materials from NSIA. “Or are the blenders not meeting up with requirements of the commercial banks?,” he asked
“Are the blenders owing the FGN through NAIC-NPK Ltd or any agency of government, why is it that there is no pressure from any official quarters for such recoveries?
“Why is the National Assembly leadership and the committees on agriculture and rural development in both chambers not interested in the oversight for such recoveries if any?
“Why are they not interested in the oversight scrutiny of the entire PFI operations?
“Why is it that the leadership of FEPSAN has not come out in the open to say if they are unable to access raw materials from NSIA warehouses due to certain official/commercial bottlenecks, or are their members truly indebted to the FGN from the phase 1 operations?”
He said there are no success stories of the PFI, hence, the call for disbandment and a need to have a new scientific approach, organically.
“I wonder if the major actors in the PFI are aware that our collective National food security is seriously under threat and that Nigeria doesn’t require selling the same failed old PFI story to Mr.President for a phase 3?
“OFPSAN objects to it in it’s entirety because PFI has failed the entire agriculture sector of Nigeria”.
Keyen, however, said that OFPSAN is making calculated efforts to reduce the nation’s over-dependence on chemical inputs in the Agricultural food chain practices through the use of harmful chemical inputs.
“These toxins will ultimately harm the physical, chemical and biological properties of our soils, foods, environment and societal health.
“Our members have a large stock of organic fertilisers that can largely fill the current void in the fertiliser market but require the interventions of all arms of government.
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