Perspectives of selected stakeholder groups in Nigeria on the federal and state fertilizer subsidy programs

This paper presents the results of interviews with 44 stakeholders in the Nigerian fertilizer sector eliciting their perspective on various aspects of the federal and state government fertilizer subsidy programs. The stakeholders interviewed include persons employed at statelevel ministries of agriculture and the agricultural development programs (ADPs), agricultural input dealers, members of small farmers associations, and farmers not aligned with a farmers association. A key finding is that fertilizer is in high demand by farmers, many of whom would be willing to pay market price as long as the product is available. The stakeholders reported that there is a persistent shortage in the supply of fertilizer held by public and private sellers and that the subsidy programs have been plagued by late delivery. Some stakeholders also report that rent-seeking activities and political manipulation have resulted in subsidized fertilizer being diverted to beneficiaries that do not meet the criteria to receive the subsidy.