The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) is set for a major transition in November 2025, when the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) will hand over full management of the programme to MOFI Management Company Limited (ManCo), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI). This shift marks the end of nearly a decade of NSIA’s oversight of the scheme, which has played a central role in reshaping Nigeria’s fertilizer sector.
Ahead of the handover, MOFI and NSIA recently held a review session to assess the achievements recorded so far, evaluate stakeholder partnerships, and map out strategies for the next phase. The programme under ManCo is expected to introduce wet blend technology, extend operations into underserved regions, and expand opportunities for private sector involvement, building on existing successes while unlocking fresh impact across the agricultural value chain.
Since its inception in 2016, the PFI has undergone sweeping reforms that transformed local fertilizer production. When NSIA first assumed management, only four blending plants were operational. Today, that number has grown to more than 90, with over 128 million bags of high-quality NPK fertilizer distributed to farmers nationwide by July 2025. These efforts not only improved affordability and access but also boosted food security and created more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Chief Executive Officer of MOFI, Dr. Amstrong Ume Takang, commended NSIA’s stewardship, describing the achievements as a strong foundation for further growth. He noted that while the initiative has significantly advanced fertilizer availability and domestic blending capacity, stakeholders must remain engaged to ensure progress continues. According to him, ManCo’s mandate will focus on consolidating past gains, addressing lingering challenges, and driving collaborative pathways to sustain and scale impact.
NSIA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, described the transition as both symbolic and strategic, marking the close of one phase and the beginning of another in the federal government’s agricultural intervention efforts.
The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative was launched in 2016 as a government-led effort to revive local blending, make fertilizer accessible and affordable to Nigerian farmers, reduce food-induced inflation, and stimulate growth in the agricultural sector. Initially managed through NAIC-NPK Limited, a subsidiary of NSIA, the initiative was restructured in 2021 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of MOFI. A joint management arrangement between NSIA and ManCo followed, under an Operational Management Agreement, but that structure will formally end in November 2025 when NSIA exits and ManCo assumes sole responsibility for PFI-NPK.
The transition underscores the federal government’s broader push to deepen private sector participation and institutionalise reforms that can sustain long-term agricultural productivity. For many farmers and industry stakeholders, the handover represents not just a managerial shift but a new phase of expectations for Nigeria’s fertilizer ecosystem.
