The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority said on Wednesday that it had saved over $350m from the previous payments on subsidy and import substitution through the implementation of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative.

The agency said the initiative, which is in its fourth year, has delivered on key outcomes including over 30 million bags of 50kg NPK 20:10:10 equivalent spanning project period and price reduction on fertilizer from over N10, 000 to under N5, 500.

The agency said food security has been achieved by facilitating increase in domestic food production through the provision of affordable, high quality fertilizer.

The NSIA said its subsidiary, NAIC-NPK Limited, would be spun off to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

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It said under the new arrangement, blenders would no longer be paid blending fees by NAIC-NPK as they would recover their costs directly from selling fertiliser to the market.

It said this would balance the incentives of the business and ensure blenders build the right capacity to actively participate in the local supply sub-sector.

The statement said, “The blending plants are expected to provide bank guarantees to cover requisitioned raw materials demand that are appropriated for their respective production volumes.

“As part of the new structure and in line with the Presidential directive, the Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning and the Central Bank of Nigeria are expected to engage commercial banks to facilitate lines of concessionary credits to blending plants for the purchase of raw materials.