TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria is on the path towards becoming a regional and global powerhouse in fertiliser blending.

The president spoke on Thursday during a virtual briefing on the progress of the presidential fertiliser initiative.

The meeting was to review the progress made so far in the country’s fertiliser sector.

Buhari commended Thomas Etuh, president of Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association (FEPSAN), noting that the tenacity of the group, during the recession and COVID-19 lockdown, has placed the country in a strategic position to witness unprecedented prosperity.

“Nigerians should be proud of the sacrifices and personal commitments you have made towards the milestones we have so far recorded,” Buhari said.

“The recent recession didn’t affect your investments in this sector even when others were taking their investments outside the country. Investments in rural areas tackle unemployment, which is the root cause of the insecurity we have been experiencing in many parts of the country at present.”

Buhari also said his government will provide a favourable investment climate for the farmers to continue to get good results.

He also appreciated the King of Morocco for partnering with his administration to end the scarcity of fertiliser in the country.

Etuh said the commitment and supportive roles played by Buhari in birthing the presidential fertilizer initiative has lifted the country from scarcity to availability.

“Mr. President, you can beat your chest and say that you have delivered the country from scarcity to abundance, not only in fertilizer ram materials but also in blended NPK production,” he said.

“Mr. President, when you invited us for a role in the PFI programme, there were only four blending plants in Nigeria operating at less than 40 percent capacity. But today, we are proud to announce the existence of 40 blending plants in the country, all operating at 100 percent capacity.

“Today, we are proud to announce that all the blending plants in Nigeria source 60 percent of their raw material locally.”

Etuh said members of FEPSAN used to have a combined production capacity of one million metric tonnes of blended NPK fertiliser but have now witnessed an additional increase of five hundred thousand metric tonnes in 2021.