Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe has
said that Indorama Fertilizer is very important to achieve the Federal
Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, aimed at boosting
food production across the country.
The Minister who visited Indorama’s world-class fertilizer plant in
Port Harcourt on Wednesday said that the Federal Government will help
to tackle whatever challenges the company faces to ensure that it
supplies the product to farmers across the country without delays.
In a News Release signed by Dr Jossy Nkwocha, Head of Corporate
Communications, Chief Ogbe commended Indorama Eleme Fertilizers and
Chemicals Limited for keying into the FG Presidential Initiative on
Fertilizer, which is aimed at bringing down the cost of fertilizers
across the country.
Managing Director of Indorama-Nigeria, Mr Manish Mundra informed the
Ministers that Indorama is committed to supply 360,000 metric tonnes
of Urea to blending plants which they use in producing NPK
fertilizers.
Chief Ogbe who was accompanied on the facility visit by the Minister
of State, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and the Commissioners of
Agriculture of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Mrs Onimim Jack and Mr
Doodei Week respectively, stated that the success of Indorama
fertilizer is the success of the Federal Government and the people of
Nigeria at large.
“The federal Government wants to make sure that Nigerians have enough
food to eat. We can only achieve that objective with enough fertilizer
in the country. That’s why we consider Indorama as a partner in
progress in achieving food sufficiency in the country,” Chief Ogbe
said.
The Ministers and their entourage were conducted round the fertilizer
plant which has capacity to produce 1.5 million metric tonnes of Urea
per annum but now produces only 1.1 million metric tonnes due to short
supply of feedstock (gas).
They visited the state-of-the-art Control room, the Ammonia and Urea
units of the plant, as well as the Bagging Section where the Ministers
touched the Urea Granules and saw the bagging process.
The MD of Indorama, Mr Mundra said the company was committed to its
vision of building Africa’s largest petrochemicals and fertilizer hub
in Nigeria; and investing a total of over $5.8 billion by the Year
2022.