Lawal Ibrahim
27 June 2008
Katsina — Fertilizer distribution has been hijacked by middlemen and the ordinary farmers still buy the product at exorbitant prices in the open market, Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema has said.
Governor Shema who was speaking while inaugurating the ten man state committee on the implementation of agriculture activities at the council chambers regretted that the story of fertilizer remains the same everywhere in the country where the fertilizer distribution is at the mercy of middlemen.
He said there is need to for the state to come up with decisions and positions on whether they will continue to grant subsidy on fertilizer because this year alone the state has in conjunction with the local governments subsidized the product to the tune of N1.6b.
"Unfortunately the story remains the same everywhere in Nigeria and year-in-year-out, the fertilizer ends up in the hands of middlemen and the farmers end up buying it at very exorbitant prices. We did everything we could in Katsina to set up layers of committees despite that there are cries in some areas where the fertilizer did not reach," the governor said.
The governor tasked the committees to define ways of revamping agriculture in the state.
Among the terms of references of the committee is to harmonised the implementation of the state economic summit and that of Ahmadu Bello university's report on revamping agriculture in the state.
The chairman of the committee Dr. Mohammed Sani Kallah in his response promised to help boost food production in the state.
The members of the committee include Professor Balarabe Tanimu, Dr. Sani Bako, Hassan Ahmed Mashi, Usman Umar Yaba, Ibrahim Musa, Garba Umar Danja, and the representatives of Agriculture and Water Resources Ministry, while Suleiman Safana is to serve as the secretary.
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