Economic Recession: President Buhari Revives Jonathan’s Agric Policy He Suspended In 2015

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has said it had revived the e-wallet system for fertilizer allocation and distribution, a year after suspending it.

President Buhari and Jonathan

 

Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, disclosed that the President Buhari administration had revived the e-wallet system for fertiliser allocation and distribution, a year after suspending it.

 

According to Premium Times, the minister who made the announcement said the policy would however be modified to address the challenges that made it unsustainable.

 

At the meeting, which held as the National Bureau of Statistics confirmed the nation was in recession, the government also approved a borrowing plan and solid minerals initiatives to stimulate the economy.

 

But the decision to restart the e-wallet fertilizer scheme represented another economic policy reversal by the Buhari administration, which had earlier dumped the initiative.

 

The e-wallet system was part of the Growth Enhancement Support scheme introduced by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to address the menace of middlemen in the fertiliser supply chain, which experts identified as a challenge for farmers at the time.

 

The policy, seen as one of the few successes of the administration, ensured the registration of about 4.2 million farmers within its first year.

 

More than 10 million were said to have been registered at the height of its implementation.

 

Akin Adesina, who served as Minister of Agriculture between 2010-2015, when the scheme was initiated, said its success contributed to his elevation to the African Development Bank where he is now the president.

 

The policy was however suspended by the Buhari government in 2015.

 

The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, cited accumulated debts to fertiliser and seed companies as well as corrupt practices that had contributed in making it costly and unsustainable.