By Ishaya Ibrahim
Fertilizer, a critical farm input rose from N28,000 in March to its current price of N46,000. This has exerted enormous pressure on smallholder farmers who averagely may need at least 20 bags to do agriculture on a commercial scale.
The high cost of fertilizer is a pointer that food prices won’t significantly reduce this harvest season. As a result, Nigerians are appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to subsidize fertilizer with the nearly N1 trillion allocated as N50,000 monthly giveaway to some 3.6 million families.
President Bola Tinubu had last Wednesday approved an uplift grant under the National Construction and Household Support Programme for 3.6m Nigerian families. The initiative would deliver N50,000 to 100,000 families in each state for three months.
In view of the food crisis ravaging the country, Nigerians are asking Tinubu to reconsider the N50,000 giveaway initiative because it would only increase food insecurity instead of taming it for the more than 100 million people living in multi dimensional poverty. They say a subsidy on agriculture inputs like seedlings, fertilizer and preservatives have the effect of reducing food inflation significantly.
On X, @HAHayatu said: “If the government subsidized fertilizer with the 1 Trillion Naira they intend to do giveaway with, it will curb hunger and reduce poverty rather than giving a few privileged people 50k each. But will they do that?”
@MalcolmInfiniti said: “I just read that Tinubu approved N50,000 uplift grant for 3.6m Nigerian families and I said to myself this approach of the government giving palliatives and handouts to Nigerians must stop because it is wasteful and not effective. By the way, what is N50,000? By the time you buy a paint of garri, beans and rice the money is gone. Not taking into consideration tomatoes, pepper, onions, oil and other condiments or protein. Nigerians are not lazy people. Let’s teach them how to fish, not to eat fish. 99% of government palliatives and handouts do not get to the beneficiaries. They end up in private accounts and pockets of public officers.”
@AkiodiAkari said: “Palliative and all sorts are avenues to loot the nation dry and align their pockets. COVID’19 was a classic example. Nothing has changed. Cancel import duties for food.”
@flourish007 said: “Good initiative, but who are these people, and what criteria are used to select 3.6 million out of over 100 million living in severe poverty?”