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Supply difficulties, delays in distribution, unsuitable aid: the Nigerien authorities want to rationalize the fertilizer sector. On January 6, the decree implementing the law on fertilizer reform, initiated in 2018, was validated by the Council of Ministers.
Three kilos of fertilizer used per hectare on average. An observation that has contributed to reflection on the sector. ” Niger is one of the countries that uses the lowest dose of fertilizer per hectare, says Yahaya Garba, director general of agriculture at the ministry. And the objective of the reform is to make quality fertilizers available and accessible to rural producers in particular throughout Niger. »
Prior to this reform, the public central Caïma was in charge of the fertilizer sector. But difficulties, in particular of supply, were encountered. ” We expected the fertilizer for April-May and it arrived between August and September, at harvest time, recounts Bagna Djibo, chairman of the board of directors of the farmers’ platform and interim chairman of the fertilizer market observatory. The formula of increasing soil fertility is essential in Niger to boost production, to help ensure food security, but also to allow producers to increase their income. »
Distributions which should be ensured thanks to the network of private companies. And the subsidies that benefited all farmers are adapted. ” The current system should above all make it possible to favor small producers, says Bagna Djibo. Targeted subsidies for the most vulnerable, whereas before them concerned all the world, even those who had great means benefited from these subsidies. »
A reform favorable to the private sector
« This is good news and a happy opportunity “, rejoices Abdoulaye Dia Omar, president of the Nigerien Association of importers and distributors of fertilizers (Anide), promoter of the company La Nigérienne des Entrants. He wants to be reassuring, the private sector will be supervised.
« The price of fertilizers, the PIR is a reference indicator. This PIR is published monthly throughout the country. So this makes it possible to protect the producers against precisely the possible crooked importers, argues Abdoulaye Dia Omar. This price incorporates all the parameters in the calculation of costs and even the margin that the importer must apply to his fertilizer to make it accessible to the producer. »
Despite the vertiginous increase in the price of fertilizers on the world market, the results for 2021 are already positive according to the various players. More than 70,000 tons of fertilizers have already been imported. This is more than double that at the time of the Caïma.
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