BASG pegs fertilizer price at N4, 500 per bag

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By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi.
The Bauchi State Government has approved the purchase of 20,000 tons of assorted fertilizers for the 2016 cropping season.
Governor Mohammed Abubakar announced Wednesday at the launching and sales of fertilizer for the season in Jama’are, headquarters of the Local Government Area, about 250 kilometers away from the state capital
The Governor disclosed that NPK brand of the fertilizer would be sold to farmers at N4,000, while Urea would attracts N4,500 as against N2,270 and N3,000 in 2015 respectively the state government sold the commodity.
According to him, 200 trucks out of the 666 trucks meant for the state for this year had already been received, while the balance would be delivered in the next two weeks.
Abubakar revealed that the state had negotiated for N2 billion loan for farmers in the state from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while the state government would pay for equity and training of farmers as required by the CBN to enable farmers access the loan, saying Bauchi had targeted 100,000 farmers of sorghum, rice and maize for 2016 cropping season.
He explained that the state government had negotiated with Government of Republic of China and Lebanon to buy groundnuts, Sesame and Soya beans from farmers in the state, while plans have been concluded to buy modern tractors and combined harvesters from some countries for sell to farmers at subsidized rate to encourage mechanized farming.
Governor Mohammed Abubakar also said that the state government had identified a special spice of grass in China that could produce 500 tons per hectares to encourage ranching, beef and dairy productions, as he urged farmers to form cooperative societies to enable them secure loans and agricultural inputs for modern agriculture.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Yusuf Mahmud, had earlier said that his ministry had adopted the new Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government, and applauded the efforts made by the state government in paying N35 million counterpart that would attract N995 million for the FADAMA III additional funding.
He also commended the government for paying another N20 million counterpart fund that would attract 50 million dollars to farmers in the state, saying the ministry had deposited assorted fertilizers at 42 sale points in the state to enable farmers access the commodity at their doorsteps.
Bauchi State Chairman, All Farmers Associations of Nigeria (AFAN), Haruna Yakub, commended the state government for providing level playing ground for farmers to access loans worth millions of naira from the CBN, also hailed the government for paying 10 per cent prerequisite for accessing the loans from the CBN.

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