Some rural farmers in Bauchi state want a review of the fertiliser distribution system in the state, Newsday reports.
According to Newsday findings, most of the farmers in some rural settlements on the outskirts of Bauchi metropolis were not satisfied with the distribution method being adopted by the state government.
In separate interviews with farmers in those settlements, they told Newsday that they see the channels through which the commodity was being distributed as unreliable.
``Whereas government is doing its best, the channels through which the commodity is being distributed are not reliable,'' some of the farmers who spoke to Newsday lamented.
They pointed out that the year 2011 has been the worst, in comparison with the problems experienced in previous years.
Malam Babaji Yakubu, a 56-year-old maize farmer in Inkil village, blamed lack of fertiliser for the poor harvest on his farms this year.
“I had to use decomposed garbage in place of fertiliser and I thank God that I can now boast of something. But the output should have been far more than this,” he stated.
Mohammed Muktar of Sabon-Layivillage, noted that the situation should have been better in spite of the problems of rainfall.
``Although, the cessation of rainfall also contributed to the problem of poor harvest this year, but things would have been better if fertiliser was available.
“I was able to buy one measure of fertiliser which I supplemented with manure, but that was not enough to meet the needs of the maize and sorghum I planted,'' he said.
Two other farmers in the village, Isa Audu, a maize farmer, and Yusuf Usman, a rice farmer, told Newsday that the problem of inadequate fertiliser had become a recurring decimal.
They said this had forced some farmers to shift to planting crops which do not demand much fertiliser.
“From experience over the years, it will be difficult to secure the least quantity for use in the farm. Even if one is lucky, the little that comes to you is always late.
“I and several other farmers therefore decided to shift to crops like groundnut and beans that can survive without fertiliser,'' Audu said.
In his account, Usman said while he cultivated six bags of rice in 2010, he was not certain of getting more than two bags this year in view of the prevailing situation.
“I do not have the means to buy fertiliser in the market and you need somebody to stand for you before you get the one sold by government.
``That has been my predicament and that of several other rural farmers”, he said.
In Turum village, another farmer, Mohammed Sani, said farmers in the area were asked to pay money by officials of the state government and then await the commodity's supply.
``But as it is now we have ended up getting nothing. I never got a single bag of fertiliser. In fact, I had to struggle to get my money refunded,'' he said.
The farmer then advised government to be wary of those to be given the responsibility of distributing the fertiliser in the future.
“My candid advice to government is that, henceforth, those to be vested with the responsibility of distributing fertiliser at the rural areas should be screened thoroughly before being assigned such responsibility,” he said.
Isa Ahmadu of Kajitu village told Newsday he also cultivated millet and groundnut as against his popular choice of maize after using decomposed refuse as fertiliser.
“It is either you pay refuse collectors to dump decomposed garbage in your farm in advance, as an alternative to fertiliser, or you move away from crops demanding an enormous use of fertiliser,” he said.
A significant number of the farmers who responded to Newsday inquiries attributed the problem to lack of sincerity on the part of some of those entrusted with the responsibility.
``Those distributing the commodity, especially at the grassroots, are not sincere, and I will appeal to the state government to review its channels of fertiliser distribution to farmers at the rural areas,'' one other farmer said.
State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Tasiu Mohammed, confirmed Newsday's findings on the problem being encountered by many farmers.
He said a lot of the farmers that received allocation letters this year could not secure the commodity in good time.
``I can attribute the problem to a production hitch at the State Fertiliser Blending Company in Bauchi,'' Mohammed said.
Chairman of the fertiliser company, Alhaji Tijani Adamu, told Newsday that only 5,000 of the required 10,000 tonnes of fertiliser had been produced by the company as at this week.
He attributed the delay in production to the late arrival of the raw materials needed for the production of the commodity.
``Production was to have started in January, but the materials were only available in June when the rainy season had almost set in,'' he said.
