No fertiliser scarcity expected-Minister

Fertiliser

THE government has assured farmers that there will be no scarcity of fertiliser in the country and urged them to procure quantities according to their needs.

The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Hussein Bashe, said the government has put in place a good distribution system that will enable every farmer to get fertiliser per his or her needs.

“I want to assure you that this subsidy is not short-term, and there will be no shortage of fertiliser. So farmers should buy fertiliser as per one’s need there is no reason of buying 20 bags while your need at that time is less than that,” said Mr Bashe over the weekend at an event to receive a shipment of over 31,000 tonnes of fertilisers at the Dar es Salaam Port from ‘OCP Group’ of Morocco over the weekend.

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According to the Ministry the special fertiliser cargo aims at enabling farmers to meet their agricultural needs for the next farming season.

Minister Bashe disclosed that since the government announced the subsidies, farmers started to purchase fertiliser in bulk fearing that the subsidy provision is for the short-term, which is false.

The country has over 150,000 tonnes of fertiliser in stock which is minus the received 31,000 tonnes and next month is expected to get yet another consignment of 100,000 tonnes.

“The country needs an average of 450,000 tonnes per year. Currently, we have an average of 50 per cent of sowing fertiliser on stock” unveiled Mr Bashe.

He said that each farmer at every level of the village will be registered by his/her name, farm, and phone number under a biometric system platform to enable the ministry to get every farmer’s correct information whenever they purchase fertiliser.

The minister stressed that every fertiliser bag should be printed with the words ‘subsidy’ and for those that are already on the market and have not was printed with that word, a logo should be affixed to show that the fertiliser is subsidised.

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