Shortage of fertilizer hits Bauchi, says Ministry

From Ahmad Mohammed, Bauchi

Bauchi State Government has disclosed that the state has experienced shortage of fertilizer and its working tirelessly to address the problems in all parts of the state .
Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Agriculture Dr Bala Musa Lukshi stated this today when he answered questions from reporters as a result of series of complains by farmers on the shortage of the commodity across the state.
He said, “The issue of fertilizer distribution is the backbone to agriculture. Actually we have distributed fertilizer to all the 20 local government areas of the State right from the time it was launch.
initially the purchase of the commodity was very slow quite number of the local government areas exhausted what we have planned for them and we replenished what was exhausted particularly Dass , Bogoro and Ningi they exhausted their own immediately it was given to them compared to other local government as I am talking to you, now the report for today this morning which I received from the general manager of the Bauchi State Agricultural Supply Company BASAC was that we have exhausted our fertilizer in the State, apart from in Itas Gadau Local government , Itas Gadau still has some balance” Dr Lukshi said, “ even before that as at Thursday last week we sensed that we will run short of the commodity. I contacted the manager of the Bauchi State Fertilizer Blending Company. I told them we have money on the ground because His Excellency, the Governor gave us money for revolving scheme, so it’s not that there is no money to buy fertilizer that will be sold to the farmers. We have money on the ground but unfortunately the blending company don’t have fertilizer on the ground, and you know the purchase and distribution of fertilizer is controlled by the Presidential initiative, they determine the price which is a fix rate the one you will buy at the company and even at the open market, its controlled by the Federal Government, but the chemicals required for fertilizer is being supplied to the company by the Federal Government and the company doesn’t have the materials to produce the commodity now.”