The Kano State Government has vowed to prosecute traders involved in the sale of fake and adulterated agrochemicals, warning that it will no longer tolerate the distribution of counterfeit agricultural inputs that threaten food production and farmers’ livelihoods.
The government said the sale of fake pesticides, herbicides and other agricultural chemicals has caused significant losses to farmers and undermined efforts to boost agricultural productivity in the state.
The warning was issued on Friday by the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Consumer Protection Agency (KSCPA), Ibrahim Muhammad, during a strategic meeting with the newly elected executive members of the Kano State Agrochemical Dealers Association.
According to Muhammad, the proliferation of substandard agricultural products poses a serious threat to food security and the livelihoods of farmers who depend on quality inputs for successful harvests.
“The widespread circulation of these counterfeit agricultural inputs directly undermines our food security and bankrupts our hardworking farmers.
“We will deploy the full weight of our regulatory laws to prosecute any vendor found compromising quality for greedy profit margins,” he said.
Muhammad disclosed that the agency had received numerous complaints from farmers over the sale of fake and diluted agrochemicals, which had resulted in crop damage and poor harvests.
He described the trend as a major challenge to the state’s agricultural sector, stressing that protecting consumers and ensuring access to genuine agricultural products remain key priorities of the agency.
The executive secretary urged members of the Kano State Agrochemical Dealers Association to work closely with regulators by providing intelligence that would help identify and eliminate unscrupulous traders from the market.
He said legitimate dealers have a responsibility to expose those involved in the sale of counterfeit agricultural products and support ongoing efforts to sanitise the sector.
Muhammad further revealed that complaints were particularly common among smallholder farmers in Kura and Garun Malam Local Government Areas, where fake agrochemicals were reportedly responsible for crop damage and reduced yields.
Responding, the Chairman of the Kano State Agrochemical Dealers Association, Abdulkadir Dankoli, pledged the association’s full support for the agency’s efforts to eliminate counterfeit products from the market.
Dankoli said the association had established an internal task force to monitor markets, identify fraudulent traders and protect the integrity of the agrochemical business.
“We are committed to ensuring that only genuine and high-quality agricultural inputs reach farmers.
“Our members will continue to work with relevant authorities to rid the market of counterfeit products,” he said.
He also appealed to the Kano State Government to engage registered agrochemical dealers as technical advisers in the procurement and distribution of subsidised farm inputs.
According to Dankoli, involving professionals in the process would minimise the risk of fake or substandard products finding their way into government-supported agricultural programmes and ultimately into the hands of farmers.