Hir Joseph
9 July 2009
Makurdi — Roadside merchants are making brisk business out of fertilizer in Benue State, a development Governor Gabriel Suswam had feared may thwart government's promise to take the commodity to the doorstep of the farmers this time.
No sooner had fertilizers reached the state than they found their way into the hands of black marketers who are having a field day vending the commodity at retail joints scattered all over the state, especially in Makurdi, the state capital.
The development has revealed the absence of solution in measures put in place by Governor Suswam who announced earlier in the year that he stripped the Commissioner in charge of the ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Benjamin Ashaver of the role of distribution, and handed it to a committee headed by the deputy governor, Chief Steven Lawani.
Daily Trust spoke to a number of black marketers who refused to disclose their identity, but said they have been procuring the commodity from three different sources - government officials at the ministry, those given allocation by government and the open market.
In Makurdi where the New Garage in the Wadata section of the city and Lafia Garage in the North Bank section, are the veritable points where the commodity is being offloaded for further retail, a bag of Urea is going for N4, 500 while the two brands of NPK namely; NPK 15-15-15 and NPK 20-10-10 are selling at N4, 300.
Our correspondent spotted many buyers who identified themselves as farmers, making purchases. One of them who agreed to speak, said he cannot risk his crops like he did last season waiting for the government allocation which was sold N2, 000 per bag.
"The government allocation is only in the promise. They politicize it, and when it finally came, party chiefs in the communities grabbed it and sell at the same price as the ones we are buying here", said the farmer who gave his name only as Tardoo.
Similarly, the State Coordinator of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), retired Captain Denis Aernan who reacted over the development said he is aware of the changes Suswam introduced to stem the problem of racketeering, but expressed dissatisfaction with the measures so far, saying, "the distribution of fertilizer in the state is still a huge problem."
He explained that the government has folded its arms to watch a few individuals at the ministry to thwart its efforts to take the commodity to the door step of farmers, adding that he observed the trend in Vandeikya local government area where he alleged that the allocation was taken straight from the council ware house and handed to businessmen to sell at exorbitant rate.
But the commissioner in charge of the ministry, Benjamin Ashaver who though said the distribution is not his responsibility any more, going by the governor's measures, said "there is no way the ministry or the committee can monitor the movement of fertilizer in the state."
The commissioner added, "This problem has eaten deep into the fabric of the state", explaining that several measures have not stemmed it more so that "fertilizer is a deregulated market."
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This is ridiculous! Suswan has the masses at heart, but unfortunately assigned the wrong people. The only solution that can bring 'fertilizer recketeering' to an end is for Governments to adopt the VOUCHER SYSTEM'. It is happening in Taraba state successfully.