Introduction
Nigeria has great potentials for fertilizer consumption and use. A study conducted by the Agricultural Projects Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (APMEU) in 1990 put the agronomic potential at 7 million metric tons. With increased release of higher yielding and fertilizer consuming crop varieties, this potential is now much higher than the 7 million metrics tons. It is now generally estimated to be around 12 million metric tons per annum. Despite this high potential, supply and consumption, which peaked at average of 1 million metric tons per annum from 1984 – 1996, has now dropped significantly to an average of 500,000 metric tons per annum since the deregulation of the industry in 1997.
Nigeria also has great potential to produce substantial quantities of its fertilizer requirements. The abundant natural gas most of which is now being flared can be harnessed to produce large quantities of nitrogenous fertilizers. Commercial quantities of rock phosphate deposits abound in Sokoto, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun axis that can be used for the production of phosphate fertilizers. The only raw material that is not yet found in substantial qualities in Nigeria is the potassium deposits. Even this can be sourced from our North African neighbors.
The two fertilizer manufacturing companies – the Federal Super phosphate Fertilizer Company (FSFC) set up in 1976 and the National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria (NAFCON) set up in 1988 have both been grounded by poor public sector management. They have been out of serious production for nearly 10 years now. The two plans have an installed capacity of over 1 million metric tons per annum. All attempts to turn them around have failed. This made the Federal government, under its privatization policy to sell them out to private entrepreneurs. It is expected that they will be back on stream as private enterprises in the very near future.
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