OCP Africa to Ramp Up Fertiliser Production to 500,000 Metric Tonnes Annually

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nigerian farmers may soon heave a sigh of relief from the scarcity of fertilisers and other phosphate derivatives, as OCP Africa, a global fertiliser solutions provider, has said it is set to ramp up production to 500,000 metric tonnes of the agricultural input.

With the subsidiary of the OCP group set to launch its plant worth about $14 million in Kaduna this week, Deputy Managing Director, Programme Incubation, West Africa, Mr Caleb Usoh, stated that achieving the 500,000 metric tonnes has been kick-started by the firm.

In addition, the Sokoto and Abeokuta plants which have been scheduled to follow, Usoh said, will commence operations in January and May next year respectively.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Usoh stated that the three plants have a net value of $43 million and that the company’s investment would hit $1.5 billion when the Akwa Ibom State industrial complex being built in collaboration with the federal government comes on stream.

Already, Usoh, who was flanked by the Country Manager, Nigeria, OCP Africa, Mr Oluwatoba Asana, noted that several farmers hubs have been set up all over the country, to serve as a one-stop shop for farmers in terms of buying fertiliser, training, provision of improved seedlings, among others.

The OCP top official noted that the agricultural booster aside the farmers’ hub that provide access to inputs to farmers on loan to be paid immediately after a productive season has also been floated.

In addition, he explained that whereas several farmers scattered all over the country had to travel long distances to get products, the firm has now moved closer to the rural areas to make available most of the needed farm inputs.

“Our research is to take us to a point where we will not only focus on macro-nutrients but also micronutrients, which are essential to the better workings of the macronutrients,” Usoh noted.

According to him, while in the past, fertilisers were mass-produced with no crop-specific blends in existence, OCP has funded several researches where farmers can buy the additives for particular crops if need be.