Kano farming community has been facing challenges of fertilizer owing to failure by the state and local governments to facilitate the procurement of fertilizer required by them for the 2016 farming season. The farmers disclosed that, despite assurances by government officials, the quantity supplied from government quarters fall far short of the quantity required by farmers. According to the farmers, though the state and local governments could not avail them with the quantity required, the product abound in commercial markets. National Mirror reports that the farmers have resort to the purchase of fertilizers from vendors, who vend the products to them as exorbitant rates. The farmers noted that, they purchase fertilizers at costly prizes from vendors, in contrast to buying from government at subsidized rates, this may in turn compel the rise in the prizes of farm produce in the state. Farmers who could not afford to purchase fertilizers from vendors are prone to recording poor yields, which would affect their personal economy and contributions to the economy of their local governments and the state, a source noted. The source revealed that, farmers and the state government would jointly lose billions of naira at the end of the current farming season, if the shortage in supply of fertilizer at subsidized rate is not quickly addressed.
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