The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has hinted that Nigeria would take delivery of potash fertilizer from Russia and Canada next week for distribution as part of Federal Government’s support to famers for the ongoing rainy season farming.
NSIA’s Managing Director, Mr.Uche Orji, who made this disclosure on Thursday during a media briefing on the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (FPI) in Abuja, said the government’s intervention on the input would partly help to bridge the supply shortfall in the country due to the current the Russia-Ukraine war.
He said: “In 2022, I know one question many of you are going to ask me is, potash difficulties because there were headlines about potash. It was true. There was potash difficulty. About 30 per cent of the world’s potash comes from Russia and Belarus. So, when the crisis started there was a blockade, there were sanctions and all kinds of issues, and we couldn’t get potash.
“But now, I’m glad to report that we have solved the potash problem. On June 3rd, the first vessel will arrive from Russia. On June 6th, the second vessel will arrive from Canada.
“The President gave us the instruction to go and solve it, find it wherever you can, bring it into the county. We will have enough potash between now and the middle of June for all our needs for the year.
“Last year, we had enough to produce up to 40 per cent of the country’s need in inventory in the warehouses, so that’s coming out. Central bank is one of the big buyers, and they’re releasing it”, the NSIA boss added.
While warning those hoarding fertilizers never to undermine the purpose of the PFI, the investment expert assured farmers that the unavailability of potash, which was the biggest problem last year, had been solved earlier through the PFI.
Orji clarified: “We have a food crisis, and there are agencies of government who are now involved in ensuring that people release what they have. We are going to unleash a whole bunch of supply. At the moment, we’re struggling to clear them at the ports. We have two vessels discharging phosphate, and there’s already more in the warehouses.
“So, I sense that as these things get into the market, by the time we get into the peak application season at end of June and July, I’m hoping that this problem will be completely solved”, he added.
Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine has seriously disrupted the exports of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to global market as analysts’ anxiety over food insecurity continues to mount daily, especially in agro-dependent economies.
