North-east Crisis: FAO Appeals to FG to Lift Ban on Fertilizer

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has appealed to the Nigerian Government to lift the ban of fertilizer in the North-east region.

The federal government, in order to check the use of fertilizer for making bombs, banned it sales and distribution in some parts of the Northeast.

Speaking at the launch of the rainy season programme for 2019 in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, the FAO representative in Nigeria, Suffyan Koroma, lamented that the ban of fertilizer has affected food production in the troubled region and subsequently the income of the people.

Koroma appealed that NPK 15-15-15 should be allowed to be distributed by the FAO to improve food production and increase income of the people of the region.

He lamented that the ban on the transport of fertilizer is affecting FAO’s distribution of this essential fertilizer.

The FAO representative revealed that since 2016, FAO has supported farmers in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states with crop inputs in a bid to boost food security and household nutrition in the region.

Koroma disclosed that in 2019, FAO is targeting nearly 100,000 farmers for crop support during the rainy season, enabling food availability for at least six to eight months.

He lamented that “however, our expectation on yields has been dampened by the ban on fertilizer movement and distribution in the three Northeast states.

“The rainy season is the most important period for farmers and would have the greatest impact on their food security and nutrition. For the fourth year, FAO is proud to provide direct support to the production and income in the region.”