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'Ii'{Federal Government recently stat~d that importa,,lion, o f fertilizer and rice in Nigeria has increased tremendously 'over the years and importati o n of rice , alone stood at about NI5 5biliion annuall y, B ased 0 11 :thi s , the Federal Govemment is working o n banning the' impo rtati on of ri ce and fertili zers, The deci s ion of the government is in the right direction, cons idering the fact th at Nigeria has all the neces sary resources locall y to produce all the needed fertilizers' and rice in th is country , The financial resources, manpower and the market is locally available. However, in term s of fert ilizer productio n, 70 per cent of the techno logy has to be impOlted , while about 30 per cent is locall y available, '. For governm ent to embark o n to tal ban on importation of rice and fertilizers imm ed iately as being conter'npl ated may be too hard on the masses, Farmers all over the country cannot do wi th fertili zers in their farming proj ects . They need different ranges of fertili zers eve,ry farming season(s) to mo ve on . Based on our studi es. the producti on base of fertilizer in thi s coun try is far below the s uppl y. There are about four major produce!); of fertilizers in this country at present. Only one of the companies have benefici ating and blending pl ant About three state governments- Bauchi , Yobe and Borno fertili zer blending plants are almost at comatose and operating at very low capacity due to problems in raw materials . The plant i s meant to use imported DAP & MAP as major raw materials. T,he cost of importation and landing costs is now very high that the cost of producti o n has go ne very much hi gher than the current selling price, Companies like Stal lion Group, Tag Agro , Ni tro- Mob ile international fertilizers & Agro-C hemi cals are 'all importers tapping on the large demand-suppl y gap to survive. Recently, Oangote group announced their plan to establi sh ferti li zer producing plant at Edo State Ni'geria , Alhaji Aliko Oango te said that the move is to boost the 'agricultural Sector; make the country self sufficient in food production and export the products to ot her. African countri es, This is what many Ni gerians can do; not onl y Dangote. M any politicians have made enough money to establish industries in the country, which in tum generate empl oy ments . increase the GOP; and make . Nige rians self- reliance in food production ; but they will choose to engage in capital fli ght. , Until the late 70's , agriculture used to be the mains t~y of the Ni gerian economy, contributing as much as 'over 90 per cent of the GOP and employing over 70 per cent of the entire popUlation, directl y or indirectl y, Today, agriculture is according to recent data published by Federal Go vernm ent contributes onl y 46 per cent of the GPO , ·,.The discovery of crude oil in Nigeria has damaged our sen se of commitments to ag ri culture. Despite the fact that over 70 per cent of the total land area of Nigeria is good for agricultural production , Nigeri a can not produce enough food for its teeming population . Before the advent of crude o il in Nigeria, each region in the count ry produced different agricultural products suitable to their soil and climatic condition, The Northern parts of the,country produce mainl y groundnuts, soya- beans , hides & s kin , cotton seed in large quantities, while the South- Eas! part of the country produce oi l palms products . In the South-western part of Nigeria cocoa, rubber, oi l palm and kola-nuts are produced in large quantities for local consumption and exports, For Nigeria to get back to agriculture and perform very well ,as at 1970s, we must be able to get all the farm inputs under o ur control. We must have to invest in production of basic farm inputs such as fertilizers . Luckily, all the basic raw materials for the production of fertilizers are available wit hin the country. The most common type of 'fertilizer in Nigeria are the ,- ;n, organic type in different NPK composition. N.P.K here stands for nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium . The composition is made depending on the type of soil and crops, The Project can be set up in small, medium or large
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uWith the second round of bank consolidation and reforms just concluded, the effect is that this year will be a good year for investors. We are expecting that the cost of capital will come down and more funds will be available for investors through the banks provided that your business ideas/proposals are well packaged by professionals" .·ECOWAS Chaifmfln, ]onallUIn
, "~•• , By Uba Godwin scale procili~tion plant( s), will guide prospecti ve i nvestots in: tI1B'1:eg!'fd, '" .' .. An investor. may::;aecide to process part of the required raw . Ql.~teriais "l'd suppl y'to · fuajor producers , In this.. regard ; investor can set·,up ,'phosphate, calcium carbonate, clay and potash crushing plants, The project could, be set up in an y parts of the country ; however adequaie considerations should be given to proximity of availability of raw material s, We will guide prospective investors also in this regard The major raw materials for this project include, ammonia gas, phosphoric a~id , phosphate powder, potash , calcium carhohatei clay and fillers . All these raw material s are ab undant' in .Nlg~ria , ' , , The plants and machineW required-are obtainable fro m overseas at competitive prices. The capac ity of the plant varies depending on the capacity the prospective inves tor(s) may want to install. The designing , supplying and installing , traini ng of your manpower will be handled by the technical, partner to be recommended to prospective investors . .. ' The market for fertil~r in Nigeria, is national , expanding and sustain:ible. The nfarket is,,Je.tond to petroleum products in Nigeria. From ou r:1lnalysis investment in fertilizer; is very profitable witn high return on investment. V';arious tiers of government in Nigeria give great pri06ty to its availability and distribution to farmers. It is)fll so very important to note that over 75 per cent of all :the fertilizer consumed in the country is imported . ".,:;" " ., -""C""~'''''''''' , The National Fertilizer Poi icy and cu''';'~~t agricultural policy of Nigeria promotes the responsible use of green
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"The·National Fertilizer Policy and current agricultural policy of Nigeria promotes the responsible use of green revolution technologies namely fertilizers, seed and crop minerals, in the strive to achieve food security and for generating exportable surplus of ,_~,. farm products in a market friendly way. Secondly, the Federal Government has embarked on policy reforms of the general economy through the active privatisation of public enterprises and liberalization of the markets for farm inputs and outputs"
revolutio n technologies namely ferti li zers , seed and crop minerals, in the strive to achieve food security and for generati ng exportable surplus of farm products in a market friendly way, Secondl y, the F ederal Government has embarked on poli cy reforms of the general economy through the active privati sation of public enterprises and liberali zation of the markets fo r farm inputs and outputs . 'Viability/Funding : From our feasibility studies, these projects can be comfortably set up and effectively managed in Nigeria. The raw materials are avai lable, the plant and m achinery to set them up are also available. The manpower will not be a problem too. Though there may be some problems i'n the manufacturing sector, such as power suppl y, but some Chinese, Lebanese, Indians and others come to Nigeria wi th nothing and eventually achieve great success in the area of manufacturing , With the second round of bank consolidation and reforms just concluded , the effect is that this year will be a good year for investors, We are ex pecting that the cost of capital will come down and more funds wi ll be available for investors through the banks provided that your business ideas/proposals are well packaged by professionals . To importers in Nigeria, this is the right year to think of how to discuss with your foreign partners overseas to bring those producing plants in Nigeria and establish such in the country. With this arrangement , you will go a long way to assis t in reducing unem- , ployment and add to development of Nigeria industrially. This writer can assist in project implementation . We can guide prospective investors in setting up this project from feasibility studies , s ite planning, procurement and installation of machines , development of marketing strategies and recruitment of experienced manpower to manage the project for profit.. We can al so assist you in seeing your project proposal s come through by packagi ng a comprehensive and bankable feasibility studies reports in any of the projects of your choice, give you investment advisory seIVices, assis t in sourcing and installing formidable plants and machinery from cottage, small, medium to large scale manufacturing projects. We will provide you with information on international markets for export of your products. We wi ll also help you to carry out market survey in the country for effective marketing of your products, We will also assist in sourcing and recruiting experienced hands for effective management of your investments . In the area of funding of your projects , we will aSsist to secure funds for your projects provided they are profitable enough .