Nigeria loses 30m tonnes of fertiliser through gas flaring – Expert
The Senior Fertiliser Specialist,
African Fertiliser and Agribusiness Partnership, Mr. Paul Makepeace,
says Nigeria loses 30 million tonnes of urea (fertiliser) through
gas-flaring.
Makepeace said this in Abuja on Wednesday at the Nigeria Fertiliser Roadmap Stakeholders’ Consultative meeting.
He said if the huge amount of gas being
flared was be captured and cleaned, the country would cease to be among
fertiliser-importing countries of the world.
He said that 95 per cent of the world’s
urea is mined from natural gas and huge quantities of these gases are
being flared daily in Nigeria.
Makepeace said that agricultural yield
would increase by 25 to 35 per cent, if the fertiliser value chain in
the country were to be improved.
He said, “The amount of gases flared in Nigeria is huge and these natural gases are raw materials for making urea.
“The world fertiliser market is in a
point of decline. If we get the fertiliser right for farmers, we can
increase yields by 25 to 35 per cent.
“We want the private sector to come and create a competitive environment.”
The Vice-President of AFAP, Prof.
Richard Mkandawire, said supporting agrodealers with credit facilities
would help improve the fertiliser value chain.
Mkandawire said that providing the
facilities would guarantee reduction in the prices of fertiliser to make
them affordable for farmers.
He said, “Part of government subsidies should go toward financing agro-dealers so that they can buy fertiliser at reduced cost.”
He appealed to the Federal Government to encourage entrepreneurs to invest more in the fertiliser value chain.
The Director, Farm Input Support
Services, Mr. Ohiare Jatto, assured farmers that government would make
fertiliser available and affordable for them during dry season farming.
Jatto said the distribution of
fertiliser to farmers in various states of the federation in furtherance
of the Federal Government’s Growth Enhancement Support scheme would
soon begin.
He expressed optimism that the meeting would help improve the fertiliser value chain across the country.
The AFAP is an independent non-profit organisation, founded by a partnership of African development organisations.
It unites the expertise and dedication
of the public and private sectors to create competitive and sustainable
fertiliser markets in Africa and to contribute to an African Green
Revolution.
No comments: