- USAID commits $4 million to fertilizer use project in Africa
- OCP Group commits another $3 million to the Rock Phosphate Amendment Project
- African Leaders sign 10-year Action Plan to revive soils through fertilizer application
Africa’s Food Security
Africa’s food security relies on fertilizer access as the answer; the population is exploding, and climate change among other factors affecting food production, will more fertilizer solve this life-threatening puzzle?
The USAID seems to think so, more fertilizer, better-improved fertilizer, more affordable (questionable), all in all, the USAID is proposing fertilizer as a key solution to Africa’s food security.
“In a landmark move for African agricultural advancement, USAID and OCP Group, the world leader in plant nutrition solutions and phosphate-based fertilizers, have partnered to tackle critical barriers hindering Africa’s agricultural potential,” announces a recent press release from USAID.
The announcement comes on the heels of a visit by USAID Administrator Ms. Samantha Power to the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic in Morocco. While at the university, the USAID Administrator is reported to have signed ‘a collaborative agreement to pursue two sustainable and innovative initiatives designed to enhance agricultural efficiency and productivity across the continent.’
What are these ‘sustainable and innovative’ initiatives? They are both centered on production and access to fertilizer, better-improved fertilizers.
The first one is christened the Space to Place Project. This is an initiative to ‘gather accurate local soil and climate data.’ This data is expected to help African decision-makers make the right decision to increase agricultural productivity.
According to the USAID Administrator, the Space to Place Project will serve as a ‘Decision Support Tool’ that will guide farmers on the optimal use of fertilizers.
“These fertilizers will be customized to precisely meet the nutrient requirements of their land and crops, to simultaneously improve soil health and boost productivity sustainably,” reads the report in part.
The second initiative is also ‘fertilizer based,’ it is called the ‘Rock Phosphate Amendment Project.’ This second project is meant to help farmers evaluate the impact of applying phosphate rock and innovative nutrient formulas on crop yields and soil fertility.
“This Project will develop a Phosphate Rock Decisions Support System to help farmers identify the soils and crops that will most benefit from this approach,” the report explains.
The agreement that Ms. Power signed is a four-year renewable pact that calls on agriculture stakeholders to uptake ‘these groundbreaking initiatives and to encourage the adoption of the new tools by farmers across the continent.’
This comes barely a fortnight after the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit that was held recently (May 7) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Read Also: Soil Health for Sustainable Agricultural Systems in Africa
OCP Group, a leader in innovative fertilizer solutions
These two projects that USAID Administrator Ms. Power assented to, are the brainchild of the OCP Group, a leader in fertilizer production.
Speaking for the OCP Group, Mr. Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO of OCP Group, was delighted.
“At OCP Group, we are delighted to deepen our partnership with USAID, collaborating closely on these cutting edge projects to help unleash the potential of African farmers to feed not only Africa but the world, in ways that aim to enhance soil health, the environment and the climate.”
The USAID is leading, through considerable funding, the Space to Place initiative while OCP Africa, a part of OCP Group, is leading the integrated Soil Health and Customization project. Together, the two projects are envisioned to ‘benefit millions of African farmers and enhance the continent’s food security.’
The OCP Group announced an invest of $30 million that will fund what the Group describes as ‘efficient fertilizer use across sub-Saharan Africa.’ This enormous funding complements a prior $40 million from USAID to fund the Space to Place project.
It should be noted that at the earlier fertilizer talk, the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi, Kenya a continent wide Action Plan was adopted and it envisions increased fertilizer use as the solution to increased food production in Africa.
The Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit
The Summit assented that fertilizer serves to stimulate ‘sustainable pro-poor productivity growth in African agriculture.
The delegates went on to agree on an African Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan, as well as the Soils Initiative for Africa.
The 10-year Action Plan was endorsed with hopes that it will deliver concrete recommendations for steps to be taken by African leaders and stakeholders over the next 10 years.
“The Action Plan will provide a focus for new policies and investments that will enable farmers to work toward re-building soil health and ultimately increase yield responses and profitability of fertilizers,” reads the Summit’s press release in part.
The Action Plan was endorsed by leading private and public sector partners from across all African countries, where they endorsed several documents including the Nairobi Declaration, the 10-year Action Plan, the Soil Initiative for Africa (SIA) and the Mechanism to finance the Action Plan.
“The Nairobi Declaration articulated the key discussions among African leaders, focused on fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and investments to drive policies, finance, research and development, markets, and capacity building for fertilizer and sustainable soil health management across Africa,” reads the press communication.
The Summit was convened under the theme, ‘Listen to the Land’ and the participants explored the current condition of Africa’s soils in a bid to implement urgent and appropriate restorative measures.
The event, attended by over 4,000 participants, including 57 ministers of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs, other government leaders, scientists, private sector representatives, and leaders of farmers organizations, engaged stakeholders in discussions, aimed at rapidly restoring the nutritional value of the continent’s agricultural soils.
It was emphasized that years of excessive use without adequate replenishment, had resulted in severe depletion of the continent’s soils, hampering their capacity to sustain optimal crop yields.
“Due to decades of continuous soil nutrient mining and the age of the soils, Africa’s soils, which are among the oldest, globally, have become the poorest in the world. It is estimated that the continent loses over US$4 billion worth of soil nutrients each year, severely risking Africa’s ability to feed itself,” the stakeholders were informed.
It was also pointed out that despite this adverse soil depletion;“…Yet, a broad base of African farmers neither have access to fertilizers nor can they afford inputs needed to add life to their soils to reverse the downward spiral of the degradation of the physical environment.”
