Stakeholders canvass removal of fertilizer subsidy 

Stakeholders have canvassed the need for government to review Nigeria’s Agricultural input sector policy, with a view of fashioning out an exit strategy for fertilizer subsidy.

They argued that the subsidy regime has been ridden with corruption, wherein fertilizer don’t get to the intended beneficiaries, and it is left in the hands of middle men, who in turn sell to the farmers.

The stakeholders stated this, recently, in Abuja, at a Technical Round Table Discussion on the Future of Agricultural Inputs Markets in the country, organised by Propcom Mai-karfi.

The Personnel at the round table include, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), relevant non-governmental organisations such as the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), private fertilizer companies, input distributors, and research institutes like the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR).

They called for the need to redirect subsidy to be smart, so as to encourage increased genuine private sector investment, adding that the size of subsidy could be reduced from its current level to between 20-25 per cent to discourage rent seeking.

The stakeholders also stressed the need for the development of a plan that would enable government to create space for private sector to bridge the demand for input.

Team Leader, Propcom Mai-karfi, Collins Apuoyo, pointed out that government dominated subsidy approach has not delivered desired outcomes, pointing out that the system was characterised by administrative bottlenecks and corrupt practices.