Kwara Approves N600m For Fertiliser

The Kwara Government has approved N600 million for the purchase of fertilisers for the 2010 farming season.

Prof. Mohammed Yisa-Gana, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, who made the announcement on Thursday in Ilorin in an interview with newsmen, said more than N1.5 billion was spent on the purchase of the commodity in 2009.

He said government had decided to subsidise the commodity with N2,000 per bag, while order had been placed for the purchase of 300,000 bags for the 1,000 registered farmers in the state.

Yisa-Gana said each of the farmers would have access to a minimum of three bags of fertiliser.

He said the commodity would be distributed at four centres in each of the 16 local government areas by the appointed agents.

The commissioner added that only farmers who were enumerated would have access to fertilisers that were subsidised by government.

He said arrangements had been concluded to flag-off the distribution of the commodity by the first week of April when the rainy season must have commenced.

Yisa-Gana said five states, including Kwara and FCT, were participating in the Fertiliser Voucher Pilot Scheme introduced by the federal Government.

He explained that the scheme would void diversion of the commodity and ensure that it was delivered to the end users at the appropriate destination.

Yisa-Gana advised farmers to find out the type of fertiliser required for their farmland before purchasing and applying it for maximum productivity.

He also advised farmers who had yet to register for the scheme to do so before the end of March.