ASHENEWS reports that the Niger State Government says it has taken delivery of 68,087 litres of liquid gel fertiliser from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The support, provided under the National Food Security Council-Emergency Agricultural Intervention (NFSC-EAI) is for farmers affected by the 2018 flood in the State.
The Director General (DG) of NEMA, Zubaida Umar while handing over the fertiliser to the acting governor of the state, Yakubu Garba said that the liquid gel fertiliser is a replacement for the balance of the NPK fertiliser approved for Niger State under the NFSC-EAI which the distribution commenced in 2020.
The DG NEMA, represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Dr. Onimode Bandele, said that the distribution could not be concluded due to the changes in the regulations by the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI).
He said that the initiative terminated the former contract while a new one commenced, substituting the granular powder fertiliser for liquid gel based on a recommendation from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The DG of NEMA explained that a litre of the liquid gel fertiliser is equivalent to 50 kg of NPK 20-10-10 Fertiliser and that the process of procuring started in 2022 and ended in February 2024.
She lauded the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago for his efforts in reviving the state’s agricultural sector.
She further called for the timely distribution of the liquid gel fertiliser to the intended beneficiaries.
On his part, the Acting Governor of Niger State, Yakubu Garba, appreciating the federal government said that the support will boost the Agricultural initiative of the state government.
The Acting Governor thereby assured the fertiliser would be judiciously distributed to the beneficiaries, as the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has the record of the affected farmers of the 2018 flood in the State.
