FG to Introduce 50% Subsidy on Fertilizers, Seeds, Other Agricultural Inputs

• The federal government has said that it is planning to subsidise agricultural input by half its price
• The agricultural minister said this is part of President Tibubu's strategy to combat food inflation
• He also noted that the AFDB supports the 2023/2024 dry-season farming

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The federal government has revealed plans to subsidise agricultural input by 50% in the 2023/2024 dry season farming.

Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said this in a statement to flag off the 2023/2024 dry season farming on its website.

According to the minister, the move is in line with the actualisation of the present administration's "Renewed Hope Agenda" for Nigeria and part of measures to combat food inflation in the country.

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Subsidy to cut across inputs

Kyari noted that the subsidy will cut across a wide range of agricultural inputs. According to him, this would include seeds, fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides that would be delivered to farmers.

He revealed that the African Development Bank (AfDB) supports the 2023/2024 dry season farming as it is being implemented under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) project.

The senator added that the implementation of the project is ICT-driven. He noted earlier steps were taken to geo-locate farmlands, enumerate, register, and cluster no fewer than 250,000 farmers.

He said that the dry season farming will take place in all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the minister, one critical requirement has to do with the availability of irrigable land where the dry season farming will take place.

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Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had stated that his administration would not continue with payment of fuel subsidy after his inauguration in May.

In recent developments, however, there are indications that the Nigerian government secretly paid about N169.4 billion as a subsidy to keep petrol at N620 per litre in August.

N720 per litre: FG denies reinstating subsidy as fuel stations shut down

Legit.ng reported that the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, has denied the claim that reinstated the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), more popularly known as petrol.

The reaction comes amid widespread closure of petrol stations over issues in the downstream oil industry.

NNPCL said the delays in product transportation from the South to the North were to blame for a shortage of supplies.

Source: Legit.ng