The Director of the Farm Input Support Services (FISS) Department, Mr. Kwaido, M. S. and his team have Sealed off some fertilizer companies and shops in major fertilizer markets in Kano State for involving in sharp practices in various areas such as non-registration, adulteration, re-bagging and diversion of Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) raw materials that were not meant to be sold.

The exercise carried out on the 17th and 18th of August 2022 was in line with the National Fertilizer Quality Control (NFQC) Act 2019 and regulations signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. It should be recalled that the Primary goal of enacting into law the Fertilizer Regulatory System is to increase agricultural productivity to attain national food security which can only be achieved through the provision of quality fertilizers and other key farm inputs based on their required set standards in terms of quantity and quality.

While addressing the operators the Director of FISS assured them that the aim of the Federal government enacting the fertilizer Act was not to arrest or punish offenders but for them to be committed and cooperate with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and rural development and FISS Department in particular to create sanity in the fertilizer space.

Mr. Sunday Oke a Fertilizer Quality Control Officer in the FISS Department reminded the operators that, as stipulated in the Act, the operators are expected to register their fertilizer businesses with the Federal Government via the National Fertilizer Management Portal after which they would obtain Certificates of Registration or Sales Permits upon payment of some prescribed fees/charges before being allowed to operate any fertilizer business in the country.

While reacting to the seal off of his company, Mr. Muhammad Abdullahi of Albarka Fertilizer Company acknowledged that he was on the wrong side of the law but promised to do things right going forward.

The highlights of the first day of the exercise were the sealing-off of Messrs. Albarka Fertilizer Company, Zara Town, Nagarta Agro Fertilizer Company, Zara Town, two other illegal nameless facilities, Alhaji Yusu Dako’s shop at Getso Market Gwarzo Local Government Area. These facilities were sealed off for adulterating and re-bagging of fertilizers as well as non-registration of their companies.

On the second day of the market raids, Stop Sale Order was placed on Messrs. Danjaji Fertilizer at Singa market, Khalid Mohammed at Gida Dago Yan Kura market Sabongari and Saleh Abubakar at Gida Dago Yan Kura market, Sabon Gari for illegally possessing eight hundred bags of DAP being part of the raw materials distributed to blenders under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) that are not meant to be sold in the open markets.