The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has called for the use and local production of organic fertilizers to enhance production, improve soil conditions, and mitigate the effects of the high cost of foreign fertilizer in the country.
The Director of the ministry, Mr. Muhammad Kwaido, made this advocacy during a training workshop on Zonal Promotion of Organic Fertilizer, using Eco-friendly Agricultural Technologies, organized by the department of farm inputs support services at Agric. Show Ground, Karu ,Nasarawa State.
The country is blessed with abundant raw materials such as plant residues, poultry, livestock waste, biogas residue, and agricultural by-products that are readily available locally. Converting these wastes to wealth will generate wealth and employment, particularly among the youth.
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Mr. Kwaido, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Organic Fertiliser Quality Control, Mrs. Afusatu Babalola, noted that the training aimed to increase advocacy for the use and adoption of organic fertilizer and to halt the current rejection of Nigerian produce in the international markets.
He noted that there is a need to look inward and pay attention to local production of organic fertilizers as a result of the increase in demand for organic produce and the high cost of importing inorganic raw materials such as muriate of potash (MOP) due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict.
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According to him, benefits of adopting the use of locally made organic formulations include reduction of the cost of purchasing fertilizers; improving soil fertility; and improving the general livelihood of farmers, amongst others.
One of the participants at the workshop, a small-holder farmer, Mrs. Aishatu Gunde, commended the ministry for organizing the training, testifying that she gained knowledge on how to prepare local organic fertilizer and its benefits instead of using chemical fertilizer.
