Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will on Tuesday commission the Edo State Fertiliser and Chemical Company Limited (ESFCCL) located in Auchi.

The plant was rehabilitated by WACOT Limited in collaboration with the state government.

The Vice President will commission the NPK fertiliser plant to reiterate the Federal Government’s actualisation of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI).

Launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016, the initiative is part of the administration’s drive towards achieving food self-sufficiency and economic diversification through agriculture, to which WACOT Limited has been contributing.

The Vice President recently commissioned the multi-billion naira WACOT Rice Mill in Argungu, Kebbi State. The objective of the PFI is to ‘disrupt’ the importation of blended NPK fertiliser by directly negotiating discounted contracts for procuring core raw materials, locally blending same, and selling NPK fertilizer to farmers at a significantly lower price.

The rejuvenation of the state fertilizer plant is an integral part of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Accelerated Agriculture Initiative designed to support and actualise the job creation and food sustainability vision of the Buhari’s administration, through Public Private Partnership (PPP). This, according to the Governor, would not only enhance the state’s socio-economic status but also create an avenue for the youths to leverage on the expertise of major players in the agricultural sector.

The plant, managed by WACOT Limited, will benefit from the unprecedented bilateral cooperation between the Governments of Nigeria and Morocco, which has already resulted in the revitalisation of 11 fertiliser blending plants across the country.

While inspecting the state fertiliser plant recently, Obaseki commended WACOT Limited and used the opportunity to reiterate his administration’s commitment towards helping to achieve the Federal Government’s agricultural self-sufficiency drive for the country.

Mr. Rahul Savara, the Group Managing Director of TGI Group, the parent company of WACOT Limited, said that the plant had been optimised for both physical and compound blending and that it was ready for operation.

Speaking on the Group’s involvement in the Agricultural sector, Savara said: “We are firm believers in this administration’s vision of attaining food self-sufficiency. Therefore we will continue to invest in the agricultural sector significantly with interventions targeted at the various agricultural value chains."

Also commenting on the development, Mr. Ujwal Senapati, Managing Director of WACOT Limited said: “We will continue to deliver quality agricultural inputs at affordable prices, and in the near future, we will be producing crop-specific fertiliser for a diverse range of crops locally.”

WACOT Limited is a market leader in agro-processing, manufacturing, and distribution of certified agricultural inputs including seeds, fertiliser, pesticides, etc.

•Photo shows Governor Obaseki at the Edo State Fertilizer and Chemical Company before it was rehabilitated by WACOT Limited, in collaboration with the state government

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