Kebbi Leads in Organic Fertilizer Production

…Lack of patronage threatens private effort

By
Yakubu Ahmed-BK

Fertilizer, or lack of it, has proved to be one deciding factor in Nigeria’s effort to ensure food security, curb hunger, bring about growth and provide jobs to its ever increasing population.

Year in, year out farmers in Nigeria have battled acute shortage of fertilizer to either improve their yield or mass produce food, to feed the nation and even export to other countries, thereby making the country self sufficient in food production and deal with a debilitating capital flight as a result of massive importation of food items such as rice etc.

The call for private participation in sourcing for alternatives especially organic fertilizers to argument foreign sourced fertilizers went unheeded until not too long when some patriotic and far-sighted Nigerians pumped in scarce resources into the local production of organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizer is soil friendly, cheaper, high yielding and money spinning to both the farmers and the producers.

In Kebbi state, a patriotic, hardworking farmer and business man Alhaji Musa Danmadami was one of the earliest producers of Neem Organic Fertilizer at his Birnin Kebbi based factory.

Despite assurances of government support and systematic sensitization of the people especially farmers on the alternative use of organic fertilizer, people like Danmadami have been left in the lurch. They have mastered the art and science of neem organic fertilizer production and have mass priduced, but lack of patronage is threatening to run them out of business.

An investigation has revealed that as at today, there are over a dozen of trailer load of neem organic fertilizer produced by Danmadami that have not been purchased. This is against the backdrop of incessant cries of shortage of fertilizer by farmers in Kebbi and in all parts of Nigeria. This in turn, leads to shortage of food with the attendant social, economic and security consequences to the nation.

Apart from the fact that neem organic fertilizer is far better in all respects, it has the additional value of serving as a pesticide against parasitic insects that feed on farm produce. In other words, with organic fertilizer, you do not need to spend money to spray harmful chemicals to ward off insects.


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