By Mercy Omoike
Lagos – An Agriculture expert, Mr Ismail Olawale, has called on local farmers to be wary of proliferation of fake and adulterated fertilisers to avoid damaging crops.
Olawale, a Fellow at National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.
The expert said it was hard for local farmers to identify fake or adulterated fertilisers but pointed out factors that should be known.
“It is very difficult for the institute to believe there are fake fertilisers. However, there is an understanding that what we call fake fertilisers comes in the form of expired or adulterated fertilisers.
“The adulteration occurs when charlatans take an original sachet of fertilisers and mix it with expired ones or poor quality and sell to farmers in large quantities.
“Most local farmers cannot tell the originality of the fertilisers because they are not into the science of making fertiliser.
“In some cases, the colour and the smell of the fertiliser is one of the things farmers can take cognisance of in identifying fake fertilisers,’’ he said.
Olawale said that the normal fertilisers and the KPK fertilisers had standard colour while the fertilisers come in a grain-like form.
According to him, if the fertiliser is stored for longer than necessary, it begins to congeal like cement.
Olawale also noted that local farmers fell prey to peddlers of fake fertilisers because of their financial status.
“Some local farmers fall victim to peddlers of fake fertilisers due to lack of funds to procure from the main dealers.
“The money to purchase fertilisers is not available to farmers. However, we advise them to form cooperatives, leverage on it to get loan and procure fertilisers,” Olawale said.
He noted that farmers could also get fertilisers through government programmes, especially through interventions.
He urged the government to be cautious and scrutinise suppliers of these fertilisers to monitor the quality and quantity of what they supply.
(NAN)