LAGOS: A N1.4bn contract has been awarded by the federal government to Kenyan software firm, Cellulant, to run an e-mobile registration and validation system for subsidized fertilizer. This four-year contract is to help build an efficient distribution channel to deliver fertilizer to farmers. The government also aims to empower farmers to increase their yield and encourage a shift from subsistence to commercial farming. Under the government's Growth Enhancement Support Scheme, GESS, an accredited farmer receives allocation of fertilizer through a Personal Identification Number, PIN, sent to his or her phone which the recipient then takes to the bank and pays at a subsidized rate of 50 percent. The farmer is given a voucher after payment, which he uses to collect the fertilizer from an accredited agro distributor. It is expected that the system will boost the average farmers' incomes from N110, 000 to N280, 000 over three to four seasons. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, had however, said that only 11 per cent of the fertilizer reached farmers despite the subsidy. This in result, slowed down growth of the agriculture sector, threatening food insecurity. In a statement, Nigeria's vice president, Namadi Sambo said, “A lot of the fertilizer ends up in the hands of political farmers and they sell it back to the market at a higher price. This has been aided by the previous inefficient governments' procurement and distribution system.” The program which targets 20 million farmers has deployed a mobile commerce platform that allows transmission of money directly to their mobile phones. This will aid the government to give fertilizer subsidy directly to the farmers without any hitch.
