… Excites marketers, farmers in North
EZE O. KENNETH
After months of speculations, Dangote Urea fertilizer has finally
commenced sales nationwide and currently pushes out a minimum of 120 trucks per day across the country.
Group Executive Director, (Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio
Development) Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, revealed to the media during the weekend that the Plant has the capacity to turn out more than 4,500 tonnes of urea per day so, will conveniently meet
the local demand and even produce for exports.
He said, “We have the capacity to turn out 4,500 tonnes of Urea everyday. This is a bulk application fertilizer…each crop in Nigeria or globally will require Nitrogen and this is a rich fertilizer, having
46 per cent nitrogen. The company has the capacity to meet local
demand and also export to African countries. Currently the demand is
less than 1 million tonnes and we alone can produce 3 million tonnes,
so we can easily meet local demand and also produce for export to other West African countries.”
Aside fertilizer production, the company, Edwin disclosed is already working to support the farmers with training on application of the fertilizer and even establishing laboratories across the country for proper soil examination.
“The uniqueness of this Plant, apart from the fact that we are producing, is the focus on farmers’ support, on training, education, development as we are now establishing laboratories across the country
and even mobile laboratories where we can go drive around and take soil samples for proper examination to effectively grow the
agricultural outputs across the country.”
The Urea Fertilizer Plant was built to tap into Nigeria’s demand for
fertilizer, a critical component of achieving food sufficiency for Africa’s most populous country.
The Fertilizer Plant is expected to manufacture three million metric tonnes of urea per annum, with a view to reducing the nation’s
fertilizer imports, and generating $400m annual foreign exchange from
export to Africa countries.
Meanwhile marketers and farmers in Kano have described the newly
introduced Dangote Fertilizer as a game changer and a forecast for the expected agricultural revolution in the country.
Marketers and farmers who were apparently excited, over the weekend
welcomed the more-than ten trucks that entered Kano markets at the
weekend.
At an event organized by Dan Hydro Company in Kano to mark the
introduction of the fertilizer into the northern market, chairman of
the Kano State Agro Dealers Association Shuaibu Akarami said agro dealers had confidence in Dangote fertilizer, as in all its other products, adding that as a dealer who spent decades in the business, he had discovered that Dangote fertilizer will have no problem penetrating the market in the North.
“I have checked the product and have found out that it will have no
problem penetrating the market. With my experience in agro products, I can authoritatively say the product has met our expectations and that
has confirmed the confidence we have in Dangote fertilizer and other sister products of the Dangote Group,” he said.
The Dan-Hydro Fertilizer Company in Kano which took delivery of the
first batch of trucks in Kano said the timing and strategy for the introduction were rife.
Head of operations, Dan- Hydro Fertilizer Company, Hamadi Sekou
Drammeh said the Dangote fertilizer conforms to all set standards required by the regulatory agencies.
He said the phenomenon of perennial shortage of fertilizer product would be over in the country.
He said that part of its public enlightenment plan, the company was
going to work with all stakeholders in the agricultural sectors.
In the same vein, Sales Manager, Dan Hydro Fertilizer Company,
Sulaiman Tanko assured that the product will be sold at a reasonable price that will enable fair competition in the market.
