November 3, 2014 – Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina today came had on those criticizing President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda, stressing that for the first time in Nigeria the President eradicated corruption in agriculture which he said has been a bane of the sector.
The minister who was speaking at a press conference in Abuja commended the President, noting that distribution of fertilizer has been fraught with fraud and always hijacked by people at the peril of real farmers.
He said that for the first time in 40 years, fertilisers are now delivered directly to farmers through their e-wallet , phones, which he said has never happened before anywhere in Africa.
He said through the process about 15 million farmers have been registered adding that today a lot of Nigerians are embracing agriculture as a means of livelihood.
He said the transformation in the agriculture sector had witnessed a monumental change like never before.
“We ended 40 years of corruption in the fertiliser sector. The old system of government direct procurement and distribution of fertiliser was corrupt, he said.
He said that the sum of N873 billion was spent on fertiliser subsidies between 1980 and 2010 while nearly 90 per cent of farmers never received the fertilisers and that about N776 billion was estimated to have been lost to corruption or an average of N26 billion annually.
He explained that 1.3 million tons of fertilisers and 55,000 tons of improved seeds have been delivered directly to farmers.
