The Federal Government says it will incorporate phosphorus management into soil health cards, expand soil testing and strengthen quality assurance, among other measures.
Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, said this on Monday in Abuja at the Nigeria Fertiliser Summit 2026.
A soil health card provides farmers with vital information about the condition of their soil.
Experts say phosphorus is an essential chemical element for all living organisms and is crucial for plants to complete their growth and production cycles.
The summit was organised by the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) in collaboration with OCP Africa, the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) and other stakeholders.
It was themed “Phosphorus and Food Security: Challenges in Food Production Systems in Nigeria”.
Abdullahi said Nigeria’s pursuit of food security was fundamentally linked to soil health and judicious phosphorus management.
He said the success of agricultural systems depended not only on land, seeds, water and labour but also on the soil’s ability to supply essential nutrients for crop development.
“Among these nutrients, phosphorus stands out. It plays an essential role in root expansion, nutrient transport, rapid seedling growth and overall output of numerous staple crops.
“Phosphorus management remains a major challenge due to soil composition, nutrient exhaustion, suboptimal fertiliser practices and poor access to soil analysis services.
“The government aims to ensure phosphorus becomes accessible to plants and delivers returns on every naira spent on fertiliser.
“Fertiliser must not be treated as a mere commodity for distribution but as a critical input whose effectiveness depends on scientific understanding of soil and crop needs,” he said.
Abdullahi said the Federal Government had identified the gap and unveiled the Nigerian Farmers’ Soil Health Scheme (NFSHS) in October 2025 to shift from general fertiliser recommendations to evidence-based, farmer-focused and site-specific approaches.
According to him, achievements under the scheme include the development of the Soil Health Card and the Nigeria Soil Information System (NiSIS), as well as the strengthening of soil-testing facilities across local government areas (LGAs).
“These initiatives were carried out in partnership with the Coalition of the Willing and the Regional Hub for Fertiliser and Soil Health for West Africa and the Sahel,” he said.
Abdullahi said current challenges included the scale of establishing laboratories across the 774 local government areas and the availability and quality of soil data.
Other challenges, he said, included institutional coordination, farmer awareness, the cost and availability of appropriate fertiliser products, and sustainability.
According to him, the seven priority areas for the next phase included accelerating state-level domestication, expanding soil testing and quality assurance, operationalising NiSIS, and incorporating phosphorus management into soil health cards.
“The government will also prioritise strengthening extension delivery, mobilising sustainable financing and measuring results based on farm-level impact.
“Fertile soils constitute the bedrock of agricultural productivity; judicious phosphorus stewardship is critical to soil health; comprehensive soil health management is essential to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s food security mandate,” Abdullahi said.
The workshop was organised to address critical phosphorus-related challenges affecting food production and soil fertility management in Nigeria.
