The revamp of Edo Fertiliser Plant and Chemical Company Limited in Edo State promises to unlock the state’s agricultural potential and boost Nigeria’s economy. The revitalisation of the plant, which can produce 60,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser yearly, is expected to cut the importation of fertiliser and save huge foreign exchange. The project will also create 200,000 jobs and fast-track economic diversification. Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.
The success of the project is, no doubt, an endorsement of the new and strategic thinking in favour of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model of building and managing a business.
Under a PPP arrangement between the Edo State Government and WACOT Limited, an agricultural processing and distribution firm, and the Federal Government, the Edo Fertiliser Plant and Chemical Company Limited, in Auchi, Edo State, roared into life after 14 years of inactivity.
The fertiliser plant, which has the capacity to produce 60,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser yearly, was envisioned as a tool for unlocking the agricultural potential in Edo by providing the people with low-cost inputs to grow sustainable agribusinesses and attain food sufficiency. It was also envisaged that the project would diversify the local economy and increase the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Nation also learnt that at its inception 14 years ago, under the then the government headed by Chief Lucky Igbinedion, Edo people had thought that the ambitious project would ameliorate the sufferings of millions of rural farmers in the state, who desperately needed the input to increase yields on their farmlands and improve their livelihood.
But it was hope dashed. Much as the idea was laudable and promised huge relief in those days, the facility never produced a single grain of fertiliser. Even after a lavish inauguration anchored by then President Olusegun Obasanjo, the project failed to live up to its billings.
However, it took the intervention of the Governor Godwin Obasekiled administration to change the narrative. The governor, who has never hidden his belief that agriculture holds immense promise in spurring socio-economic development in the state, and the nation at large, was eager to consolidate his job creation drive.
Specifically, Obaseki promised to create 200,000 jobs, with the revamp of the fertiliser plant. Besides, the plant, he said, will serve not just farmers in Edo State, but also those in neighbouring states, making it a hub for the supply of agricultural inputs.
He also said the facility would go a long way in providing fertiliser for farmers in neighbouring states, such as Kogi, Delta, Ondo, and Anambra, as it is the only blending plant in the region.
These must have been why excitement greeted the recent inauguration of the 60, 000 metric tonnes fertiliser plant by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, in the company of Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh; and Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah. Other dignitaries at the event were the State Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu and the Otaru of Auchi, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aliru Momoh.
In his speech, Osinbajo said: “The President Muhammadu Buhari administration is committed to making it easy for investors to do business in the country. We want to achieve this through the promotion of transparency and efficiency. We want every state to be involved in this drive and create the enabling environment for business to thrive in their domain.”
He commended Obaseki for creating the enabling business environment for the revitalisation of the fertiliser plant. He added that the revived facility was proof that the Edo State Government was in sync with the Federal Government’s initiative to diversify the economy away from oil to the agricultural sector.
The Vice President stressed that fertiliser blending plants were being revitalised across the country as a result of the presidential initiative to diversify the economy from crude oil, boost farming activities as well as develop the agriculture value chain.
Obaseki: Its reversal of missed opportunity
In his inauguration speech, Obaseki said the project had died pre-maturely because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration squandered the opportunity for pecuniary gains.
As he noted, “The facility was never operated for a day after it was fraudulently launched by the opposition party about 14 years ago. What the opposition could not do for nearly a decade, this government, with the support of the Edo people, has done, in only about nine months.”
The governor said the government has lofty plans for the plant. According to him, the revitalisation of the facility was an effort to make the state self-sufficient in food production, noting that the ceremony was a milestone, as the facility was moribund for a long time, depriving the people of the benefits of having a fertiliser blending facility in the state.
According to him, “The aim of revitalising this plant is to make the state self-sufficient in food production and enable farmers to get fertilizer at affordable prices. We in Edo State are determined to make food available in the country.”
Obaseki commended the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative as well as the management of WACOT for partnering the government in revamping the plant. “This achievement is an open call to other investors to bring in new technology, create more jobs and expand our economic opportunities,” he added.
The Presidential Fertiliser Initiative was designed to halt the importation of blended NPK fertiliser into Nigeria, by directly negotiating discounted contracts for procuring core raw materials, blending same locally and selling NPK fertiliser to farmers at a significantly lower price. For the Edo Fertiliser Plant, NPK fertiliser would be sold for half the market price.
The governor, however, called on the Otaru of Auchi, the community where the plant is located, to ensure the protection of the facility against vandalism as it would provide several economic opportunities for the community and the state.
Strengthening diversification drive
The Edo Fertiliser plant is a bold step in the campaign to diversify the state’s earnings, and provide essential inputs for farmers in the state, many of whom have had to go through the drudgery of farming with little or no stimulus for improved yield or income.
It is expected that inputs sourced from the facility would serve as a stimulus to revitalising the business of smallholders and medium scale farmers in the state.
Some experts told The Nation that a key highpoint of the revamp was that it justified the argument for PPP. According to them, the private partners in the project, WACOT Limited, has shown that much can be achieved if dedicated public servants mount the saddle of state.
Instructively, the turn-around of the facility happened nine months after a 14-year gap.
Acknowledging this, the Group Managing Director of WACOT, Rahul Savara, praised Osinbajo for inaurating the plant and Obaseki for fostering the partnership between the state and his company.
He said the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative has made local production feasible and sustainable in the country, adding that the company’s employees would be made up of 95 per cent indigenous workers.
One project, many jobs
Already, about 500 persons have been engaged on the project, an indication that the ripple effects of the plant on farming communities would spell a turnaround for agriculture in the state.
Osinbajo, during the inauguration, expressed delight at the 500 direct jobs created by the investment, stressing that much more employment opportunities would result from ancillary economic activities to be generated by the plant.
The promise of increased agricultural activity and increased yield for farmers in the state and its neighbours would mean not only farmers have inputs at reduced costs, but also that the increased yield from the farms would attract younger people to consider agriculture as a viable form of self-employment.
