Nigeria fulfils Africa fertiliser pledge

Nigeria has fulfilled its 10 million dollars fertiliser pledge to the All Africa Fertiliser Summit, minister of agriculture and water resources Malam Adamu Bello said. It was a pledge made by President Olusegun Obasanjo during the last All African Fertiliser Summit held in Abuja in 2006 toward making fertiliser more accessible in Africa, the minister said. The summit addressed a number of strategies aimed at limiting the required amount and maximising the efficiency of fertiliser.

Adamu Bello said the project included developing a network of agro-dealers and agricultural extension services that could help farmers and make fertiliser available in quantities and mixes needed at affordable prices. He said the money had been handed over to the African Development Bank to kick-start the project. "We are playing the leading role as the convener of the summit, and we are expecting other African nations to comply." He said Africa's agriculture was in crisis because continuous farming without the replacement of soil nutrients was draining the life from the soil.

Adamu said to address the crisis, NEPAD called for the summit to restore soils and increase farm yields through an efficient use of fertiliser, both organic and inorganic. He said the ADB, with the support of the Economic Commission for Africa and other stakeholders, were collaborating to establish an African Fertiliser Development Financing Mechanism that would meet the financing requirements of the various actions agreed upon at the summit.

He advised that any of the African countries that had mineral resources for fertiliser should be encouraged to partner private companies for fertilizer exploitation. "Countries with moribund fertiliser companies should revive them and be encouraged to open new ones," Adamu said. "Countries like Nigeria and Benin have abundant mineral resources for fertiliser production."

AllAfrica.com