Farmers now collect Fertilisers at 50% reduced price

Farmers have started accessing fertilisers at the new rate, which is about 50 per cent less than what obtained some weeks ago, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, had in January announced that the price of fertilisers would crash by half, down from N12,000/N10,000 to around N5,000.

Ogbeh also stated that a shipload of phosphate would arrive in Nigeria from Morocco and that blending of the product to manufacture fertiliser would commence immediately because Nigeria’s target in fertiliser production was between 700,000 and 800,000 tonnes per annum.

“Once the blending starts in the course of our negotiation, the price of fertiliser will fall by about 50 per cent,” the minister had stated.

Also, about two weeks ago, agro-dealers in Abuja stated that the shipload of phosphate had landed in Nigeria and that the price of the commodity would crash, although the product was not sold at the new rate then.

However,

African Business must help to provide solution to worlds food challenges

Feeding the rapidly growing world population is a complex and challenging undertaking. Today, almost 11 percent of the world’s 7 billion people lack access to sufficient and affordable food. By 2050, this challenge will have markedly intensified: the population will have grown to 9 billion people, while the global middle class will have expanded to such an extent that it is expected to lead to a 76 percent increase in meat consumption. Meanwhile agriculture will face strong competition for factors of production such as land and water because of greater urban and industrial demand. According to the FAO, if we are to address this growing demand, global food production must increase by 70 percent. This is a daunting challenge, and to meet it in a sustainable fashion, we need to improve dramatically how, and where, we produce the planet’s food.

Nigeria and Fish Importation

Tilapia and Catfish are the major species farmed by local fish farmers. Apart from these two fishes that i know that are farmed locally and some indigenous fish. 95% fish consumed in Nigeria are imported. There are various species of frozen fish being imported into Nigeria and these include Herring, Horse Mackerel (Kote), Mackerel(Titus), Croaker, Sardines, Alaska Pollock,  Blue whiting and some canned fish products are also imported. 

Nigeria has been a major importer of fishery products given its ever increasing consumption and lack of sufficient internal sources. Fish Imported into the country is estimated to be 1 million tons yearly.

Life of a Gardener

In my 5 years of gardening, I have dealt with many clients. But I have to say, the majority of the difficult clients tend to be the average people. They want absolute perfection and for the very minimum price you can give them. They will argue over every last penny to make sure they are getting the utmost effort for their money. There are also some requests that surprises me while working,  a client would looked at me in the eye and tell me "Mr Gardener make sure all the leaves in the gutter is packed",  "can you please clear all the weeds at the backyard".