Every year Nigeria
spends billions of naira on the importation of different kinds of
fertiliser which are often distributed to farmers at subsidised rates.
Apart from the environmental impact of using chemical fertilisers,
farmers in the rural areas often complain of inadequate access to the
commodity. To address this challenge, Nigerian scientists at the Sheda
Science and Technology Complex, Abuja (SHESTCO) embarked on research
and development activities to explore the possibility of producing the
commodity locally. The director-general of the agency, Sunday Thomas,
says they have recorded a breakthrough that will boost agriculture and
food security.
Fertiliser from corn cobs
In line with the
mandate of SHESTCO which is to provide opportunities for utilising high
technology to contribute to the raising of the standard of living of
Nigerian citizenry, we have come up with two research products from our
chemistry advanced laboratory. The first one is what we call the Slow
Release Nitrogen Fertiliser, which is basically like urea fertiliser
that people have used over the ages. The problem that most farmers,
especially in the northern part, face in using urea fertiliser is that
it easily leaches when the rain falls, down beyond the reach of the
root of the plants especially shrubs that produce cereals. Also,
because of the very hot weather, urea easily volatilises, giving out
the nitrogen which is the key thing needed by plants. It volatilises as
ammonia into the atmosphere. So what normally happens is that in a
given planting season, the farmer has to apply urea about two or three
times before harvesting. This has been a problem to scientists not only
in Nigeria but worldwide and various approaches have been tried in
order to slow down the rate at which urea gives up the nitrogen needed
by plants. So we decided also to look at the problem. We started this
work when I was still working in the university with one PhD student
from the science and technology ministry. What we tried to do was to
slow down the rate at which urea releases nitrogen and we decided to
use something that is locally available, that is, the waste maize cob.
Normally, we throw away maize cobs after eating the corn but we have
decided to use the cobs economically. We treated them in a particular
way, ground them into powder and carried out partial hydrolysis. We
then have the treated, powdered maize cob to react in solid state with
urea fertiliser at a previously selected temperature. The result was
the powdered slow releasing nitrogen fertiliser which we granulated to
be easily applied to plant in tiny balls.
Increased quality and quantity of fertiliser available to farmers
We really believe
it will help the country a lot because it is not only a urea
improvement procedure; it also multiplies the quantity of fertiliser
available. One, if we take a bag of urea fertiliser, what will come up
is two bags of the modified fertiliser so we have increased the
quantity and the quality. Because the farmer needs just a small
quantity to apply once in a planting season and it releases the
nitrogen gradually to the plant, it is a multiplication procedure. In
fact, it would have been so useful to the country if the factory that
the federal government set up, that is the National Fertiliser Company
of Nigeria, has not been privatized. What would happen is for us to
create a spinoff company that will take the one that is produced in
NAFCON and multiply it into more urea fertiliser for farmers. Apart
from releasing nitrogen to the plant, the maize cob also increases what
is called soil organic matter and it’s very important for soil
fertility. The fertiliser is more environment-friendly because it
reduces soil acidity that results from prolonged use of fertiliser on a
piece of land.
Fertiliser from Moringa seed
The second type of
fertiliser we have produced is from the plant that is referred as the
tree of life that is moringa oleifera. 40 percent of the seed of
moringa oleifera contains edible oil which can also be used for
lubrication of electronic parts like wristwatches. Under normal
circumstances, the oil that is used for fine electronics lubrication is
got from whales where you have to first of all kill the male whale,
extract the sperm and the oil from the sperm is used but we found that
the oil from moringa can be used for the same purpose but when you
extract the oil, the remaining seed cake is a very fine fertiliser that
can be used on plants treated or otherwise.
What we have tried
to do here in SHESTCO is to see how best it can be applied as a
fertiliser. The results we have got are very encouraging. So moringa
seed cake can be used as organic fertiliser. We are working out the
best method of applying it as fertiliser and managing it for the crops
because if you use it like urea fertilier you may not get the right
kind of result. We have worked out the protocols for the best use of
moringa seed fertiliser. Already, we have applied them both in the
green house and in the field. The urea fertiliser we first produced in
collaboration with an agency in science and technology was sent for
product test at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council
(RMRDC). The council then sent the product for further test to the
Institute of Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and
then the Agricultural department of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University,
Bauchi for field testing. So they requested that we produce more. The
University of Abuja, when it created its agricultural faculty, has been
testing it for us in the fields and now in farms and came up with
positive results. They later came back for second field trial.
Spin-off from the research
We have something
else that comes from moringa leaves known as plant growth hormone.
Before now we are told to go pluck the plant and extract it anytime we
want to use it but we found a way of stabilising it so that we produce
a large quantity and keep it for use. The plant growth hormone is an
aerial spread. When you are using it, spread on top of leaves and it
will give you additional 25 to 30 percent increases in yield. It can be
drunk to lower blood sugar. So what we succeeded in doing in
stabilizing it like any other agricultural input. We increased its
spraying characteristics.
Pilot plant for local fertiliser underway
Any farmer that
starts applying our new modified fertiliser will have about 30 to 40
percent reduction in cost. We may set up a pilot plant to make it more
attractive to investors. This will generate employment, reduce
importation of fertiliser and lead to setting up of spin off companies.
It was because we looked at how much Nigeria spends annually on
importation of fertiliser that we decided to go into the research. This
research can be diffused to local farmers. One local government in Kano
State has adopted moringa as its plant of economic importance and they
are now growing a plantation because of the economic relevance. A litre
of moringa oil costs between N350 and N500. Its leaves are edible. It
can be ground into fine powder and taken like dry yeast to reduce blood
sugar.
Using local fertilizer will ensure food security
On the long run, we
intend to produce little machines that can remove the husk of moringa
seeds. I have tasked my engineers here to design one. This is part of
our mandate here. SHESTCO was, among other things, planned to have a
concentration of sophisticated equipment and other facilities needed by
researchers, but which cannot be placed in every research establishment
because of their high cost, and the possibility of under utilization.
Also, our main
philosophy in building SHESTCO is for the purpose of providing
conducive and enabling environment for tertiary institutions such as
universities, polytechnics and research institutes to use its
facilities to carry out the highest possible and widely comprehensive
range of scientific research and development in an organised manner. We
want to strengthen the technological base of Nigeria. Our advanced
laboratories here in SHESTCO are carrying out research and development
activities targeted at engendering and making their research product
and services relevant to national development goals, particularly in
the areas of agriculture and food security; environmental
sustainability; wealth creation; energy and power supply; education and
health care delivery.
