Sokoto – Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto, reiterated that the state is prepared to support investments that can develop the economic well – being of the people and lift them out of poverty.
Tambuwal, said this during the pioneering ceremony of OCP Africa’s Sokoto Agricultural Center of Excellence of $ 13 million, which consists of a fertilizer processing plant with a production capacity of 200,000 MT per year and training facilities for farmers, fertilizer accelerators and other stakeholders in the agricultural value chain.
He said Sokoto State has one of the largest deposits of high quality phosphate in Nigeria, which makes the establishment of the plant there a major step to make fertilizer available and affordable for all farmers in the state and the Northern region. .
OCP Africa, a subsidiary of the world leader in the phosphate industry and OCP Group, said that the mixing plant, which will come into operation in July 2021, has the ability to mix NPK with micronutrients. This project will significantly contribute to the achievement of the food safety objectives in the country.
Previously, ‘farmers are known for applying all available fertilizers to all plants, but with the distribution of modern mixed plants in the country, specific fertilizers can be made available based on soil and plant needs’, he said.
The Deputy Managing Director of OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Ltd, Caleb Usoh, said the facilities that would be at the mixing plant include the modern NPK fertilizer blending equipment, process building / warehouse, administrative building, trailer park, other additional facilities and ‘ a one-stop shop for farmers to access training and all farm inputs
Usoh, said the Sokoto Agricultural Center of Excellence, which will be developed on 10 hectares of land made available by the state government at the Kalambaina industrial layout in Wamakko’s local government area, will provide and also serve direct jobs for 75 people. as a training center for fertilizer manufacturers, farmers and other members of the agricultural value chain.
He explained that the citation of the plant in Sokoto greatly helps to strengthen and expand the relationship between the company and the government and residents of Sokoto, and says that other initiatives in the state include the establishment of five one-stop shops in Wurno, Goronyo , include. , Tambuwal, IIIelah and Kware to improve accessibility of inputs for farmers across the state.
Other OCP interventions in the Sokoto state included the COVID-19 palliative project, where 8,453 farmers gained access to training and fertilizers for a bag of N4,500 / 50 kg, the implementation of OCP School Lab Project; an innovative program aimed at increasing the yields and incomes of smallholder farmers through mobile soil testing and effective agronomic training. The company also empowered 13 agricultural promoters with motorcycles and electronic tablets to provide listing services across the state.