President Muhammadu Buhari has launched the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertiliser Plant which is required to bridge deficit in fertiliser requirement in addition to the Morocco’s $1.3 billion ammonia and fertilizers production plant of 2021.
The Dangote plant which was commissioned on March 22, 2022 is occupying 500 hectares of land in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos, and Africa’s biggest plant.
The plant is expected to help Nigeria retain $125 million in import substitution and provide $625 million from exports of products from the fertiliser plant.
Nigeria is estimated to need about five to seven million metric tonnes of fertiliser per annum amid its current level of fertiliser consumption which is 1.5 million metric tonnes.
The Dangote fertiliser complex is established to produce three million metric tonnes of urea fertiliser per annum in its first phase and would provide about 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in all categories, an additional 5,000 jobs within the community, as well as created 500 permanent jobs.
President Buhari had in March 2021 reported that the Morocco’s supported ammonia and fertiliser plant valued at $1.3 billion will be ready for commissioning in the coming months.
President Buhari said the plant will be built in partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco.
‘‘His Majesty, the King of Morocco and I, have agreed to extend the current Phosphate supply agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and Nigeria.
‘‘We both believe that to consolidate and expand on the successes recorded thus far, we must secure raw material supplies to our blenders.
‘‘Furthermore, to improve the balance of trade between Nigeria and Morocco, the two countries have signed an agreement to develop a $1.3 billion Basic Chemicals Platform in Nigeria that will produce Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, Sulphuric Acid and various Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilisers using Nigeria’s gas reserves.”
President Buhari further said that the new plant when completed would complement the Dangote and Indorama Chemicals facilities which produce urea, ammonia and other industrial raw materials.
‘‘When we combine these projects with the existing 44 blending plants, Nigeria will indeed become a regional and global fertiliser power house,’’ he said.
He said if investors are willing to endure the short term ‘start-up’ pains, in fertiliser investment, they will surely benefit from long term sustainable and substantial gains.
Nigeria in 2020 launched the National Fertilizer Quality Control Act 2019 as a vital component of the Agricultural Policy and the bid to reposition the Nigerian economy from oil and gas to agribusiness.
The Act will safeguard and protect the interest of the entire Fertilizer value chain players such as manufacturers, producers, blenders, importers, distributors and the end-user farmers in Nigeria.
The Act is against operating or carrying on fertilizer business as a manufacturer, blender, importer or distributor in Nigeria with an expired permit or certificate of registration.
It is spells regulation for selling any fertilizer supplement that contains destructive ingredients or properties harmful to plant growth when used according to the accompanying instructions or in accordance with the instructions contained on the label of the package in which the fertilizer or the fertilizer supplement is contained; also, engaging in the illegal sales, distribution, transportation of fertilizers, among others.
At the commissioning of the Dangote plant on Tuesday in Lagos, President Buhari declared that Nigeria’s dependence on imported products in the agriculture sector will soon be a thing of the past with the inauguration of the plant, which has an installed capacity of 3.0 million metric tonnes of Urea per annum.
The President said the plant will further advance Nigeria’s drive towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production, create jobs, increase the inflow of foreign exchange and accelerate economic growth.
‘‘This new plant is a renewed testament to the widely acknowledged patriotism of Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the leadership of Dangote Industries Limited and also demonstrates their commitment to the socio-economic development of our country and the well-being of our people.
On other benefits of the plant, the President expressed delight that with the commencement of exports to other countries including the United States, India, and Brazil, Nigeria is already gaining extensively in earnings of foreign exchange from the excess production of, and export from, the plant.
He noted that coming on stream of the plant had created huge opportunities in the areas of job creation, trade, warehousing, transport, and logistics, which would, in turn, create significant wealth, reduce poverty, and help in securing the future of the nation.
‘‘In the agricultural sector, another focal point of our economic policy, we expect a boom as fertilizer is now readily available in greater quantities and better quality.
‘‘Many Nigerians who hitherto practiced subsistence farming because of non-availability of necessary inputs can now take up agriculture as a business.
‘‘We expect the rise of a new breed of agropreneurs who will add value to farming and make the nation self-sufficient in food production,’’ he said.
He reassured Nigerians that the government is focused on providing an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, pledging continuity in improving infrastructure, power and security as well as enacting relevant laws and regulations to drive investments in the economy.
‘‘We are partnering with the private sector, through a tax credit scheme, in the rehabilitation of roads across Nigeria under Presidential Order No. 7.
‘‘As we know, good roads contribute to easy movement of goods and services across the nation, thus reducing the cost of doing business and improving productivity.
‘‘We are also rehabilitating our railway lines and building new ones to lessen the burden on our roads and create more effective multi-modal transportation networks,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Group, said the fertiliser will drastically reduce the level of unemployment and youth restiveness in the country, through generation of direct and indirect employment.
”Agriculture accounts for over 20 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, and the country is a leading producer of various agricultural commodities. The sector has the potential of becoming the biggest source of income for our Nation, providing employment and raw materials for industries.
”However, low fertilizer usage has been a major reason for low productivity in the sector. It is common knowledge that non availability of the product, in quantity and quality, rather than affordability, is the primary constraint to the use of fertilizer.
”Our goal is to make fertiliser available in sufficient quantities and quality for our teeming farmers assuring greater agricultural output,” he said.
Mr Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), lauded the government’s support to end shortage of fertiliser.
Emefiele noted that this had led to a significant increase of active fertiliser blending plants in Nigeria from seven in 2015 to 48 in 2022.
He said the import bill on fertiliser had not only dropped significantly but the country was now earning foreign exchange through exportation of fertiliser.
