Moroccan OCP Group Opens Nigeria's First Innovatory Fertilizer Plant

The new Kaduna facility will reportedly provide fertilizers to Nigerian farmers in order to increase soil productivity and achieve food security.

On October 20, Moroccan fertilizer company OCP Group opened the continent's first innovatory fertilizer plant in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, local media reported.

OCP Africa CEO Mohamed Anouar Jamali, Vice-President of West Africa Mohamed Hettiti, as well as Kaduna State Governor Nasir El- Rufai participated in the opening ceremony.

“This facility is not only for the production of fertilizers, but also to have a profound impact on the agricultural value chain of the country,” the OCP Africa head pointed out. “OCP Africa is committed to contributing to the transformation of the food system on the continent, and Nigeria represents a strategic pole for our group.”

According to Hattity, "the efficient use of custom fertilizers is one of the best ways to increase the productivity of farmers."

The newly-built plant, which covers an area of 10 hectares, includes a mixing unit with a capacity of 120 tons per hour and a 25,000-ton storage facility. It also has a cutting-edge training facility, a laboratory with advanced analytical technology for quality control and soil analysis, and a model farm for agronomic testing and farmer education.

“Every new factory, every new store, every new industrial complex creates jobs and generates income that helps support families and reduce poverty in our state,” said Kaduna Governor Nasir El Rufai.

“OCP Africa’s establishment of a fertilizer production plant in Kaduna State also widens our farmers’ access to fertilizers,” El-Rufai is quoted by The North Africa Post as saying. “It helps to improve the availability of a very essential component for agriculture.”

Apart from the new fertilizer plant, two others are currently being built by the same Moroccan company in Ogun, in the southeast of Nigeria, and in the country's northwestern state Sokoto.

The arrival of the new fertilizer plants is a result of the "Presidential Fertilizer Initiative" (PFI), launched by Nigerian president Muhammed Buhari in December 2016, with the goal of assisting in “the domestic blending of NPK fertilizer towards reducing the challenges of the Nigerian farmers.”

As part of the initiative, OCP Group started its cooperation with the Fertilizer Producers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) the same year.

This cooperation extends across the entire agricultural value chain, from the implementation of fertilizer solutions, to the improvement of fertilizer availability and the development of the logistics chains and local distribution networks.

Nigeria and Morocco are also linked by the Multi-Purpose Industrial Platform Project, within the framework of which the construction of an integrated Ammonia and fertilizer plant is being planned in the state of Akwa Ibom. Such a plant could benefit both Abuja and Rabat by commercializing Nigeria's vast natural gas resources and enabling the country to produce fertilizes locally, as well as meeting Morocco's demand for cost-competitive ammonia. The project will supposedly be launched in 2025.