The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development says it was collaborating with Zimtain Resources, Katsina, on eco-friendly material to produce organic fertilisers and manure.
Alhaji Kwaido Sani, Director, Farm Inputs Support Services (FISS) Department of the ministry who spoke on Thursday in Suleja during a one day training organised for selected farmers from North Central and North West, said this was to safeguard public health and the environment.
Sani, represented by Mr Ishaku Buba, Deputy Director, Inputs Use and National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket, said that the development and promotion of organic fertilisers became not only necessary but imperative.
He explained that substantial population and other countries that depended or patronised Nigerian farm produce showed greater preferences to organically grown foods because of the healthy status of the produce.
“As part of the government effort, special attention was accorded to the input sub-sector in order to make the farm inputs particularly fertilisers adequate and readily available at any time and places desired.
“These are being done through encouraging the private sector operators to invest in the development and production of the inputs particularly the fertilisers which are majorly made up of inorganic and organic.
“While inorganic fertilisers have attained significant level of self-sufficiency particularly urea and to certain extent compound Fertilisers (NPKs) in the country, the organic Fertilisers are yet to reach the desired level.
Accordingly, special attention and focus is being given to the development and promotion of the organic fertilisers through the utilisation of the abundant raw materials resources such as plant residues, animal and poultry droppings among others that are available locally and easily sourced around our environment.
“This is coupled with the fact that the use of organic fertilisers protect and preserve the environment for continuous and sustainable use for production and other divers uses,” he said.
He therefore urged the farmers to use the knowledge acquired at the training to improve their agri-business and also train other farmers in their communities.
Also, Dr Baye Bungwon, Head, North Central zonal office of the ministry in Minna said that there was the need for the farmers to know the type of fertiliser they are producing and the crop to produce the manure for before embarking on the project.
“For you to produce good fertiliser you have to make use of the fertiliser technology.
“In the fertiliser technology we have the organic and inorganic fertilisers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Innocent Onyekwere, a resource person at the workshop said that green grass clippings, could be use to make organic fertiliser when saturated.
Onyekwere, who is also an Assistant Director, National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudikein Abia state said that brown leaves can be shredded or chopped first to make for faster breakdown of organic manure.
Malam Musa Sadauki, District Head, Zuma community in Suleja Emirate and a farmer thanked the government for the gesture and promised to step it down to other farmers.
Sadauki appealed to government for field training to enable the farmers internalise it.
NAN reports that the objective of the workshop is to promote organic fertiliser preparation and use at local level, using eco-friendly agricultural technologies.