Farmers Urge Tinubu To Ensure Affordable Fertiliser, Warn Of Threats To Food Security

Farmers under the aegis of the Coalition of Farmers Association of Nigeria (COFAN) and Himma Youth Farmers Association of Nigeria (HYFAN), have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to make fertiliser accessible and affordable to farmers.

They also urged the president to preserve the agricultural transformation legacy of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, by enhancing farmers’ access to fertilisers, among others.

They urged the president to sustain the importation of fertiliser raw materials until local production capacity is fully reliable to meet national demand.

The groups further advised that the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) should be allowed to continue managing raw material importation, ensuring efficiency, transparency, and stability in the supply chain.

Addressing journalists at a media briefing in Abuja, COFAN President, Dr. Abubakar Bamai, alongside representatives of HYFAN, further called on the government to adopt a balanced approach that protects farmers in the short term while building stronger local capacity for the future.

The farmers expressed dismay that the price of the commodity had risen by over 990.90 per cent to currently N60,000 from N5,500 during the government’s last intervention in fertiliser.

Nevertheless, the groups commended Tinubu for his bold agricultural reforms and programme aimed at repositioning the country’s food systems, adding that the reforms demonstrated strong commitment to farmer empowerment, youth inclusion, and national food security.

They, however, expressed reservations over the federal government’s undertakings in the ongoing deliberation and restructuring of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI).

Bamai said, “We express deep concern about the immediate effects on Nigerian farmers, particularly smallholder and youth farmers. Rising input costs, distribution gaps, and uncertainty in fertiliser supply threaten to undermine the gains made over the past eight years.

“We recall that under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the PFI was a cornerstone of Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda, ensuring affordable fertiliser through the importation of raw materials and support for local blending plants.

“Millions of farmers benefited from this intervention, which boosted food production and strengthened food security…In this regard, we respectfully urge President Tinubu not to allow these achievements to be eroded.”

He told THISDAY, “During the last intervention, fertiliser used to cost around N5,500 per bag. Now it has risen to N60,000. That’s a massive difference and a huge burden for our farmers.

“The price hike is affecting everything—mechanisation, monitoring and evaluation, access, production—you name it. Previously, only a few blenders were active nationwide. But now, more blenders have emerged, which is good for youth employment and economic empowerment.

“This is a major opportunity. If more people are involved in input blending, more jobs will be created and the economy will benefit. But people also need to be realistic about timelines—agricultural investment takes time before you see results.

“It’s unfair to expect immediate results just because a large budget was allocated to agriculture. We need proper planning and long-term commitment.

“For instance, if we say we’ll produce all we consume, we must first build the capacity to do so. Fertiliser was very cheap back then, but that’s no longer the case.”

James Emejo