OCP Africa Nigeria Ltd is a subsidiary of OCP Group – a leading global provider of phosphate and its derivatives with almost 100 years of experience. OCP AFRICA was created in 2016 to contribute to the sustainable development of African agriculture. Based in Morocco, with a presence in 18 countries including Nigeria, as well as 12 subsidiaries and employees representing 17 nationalities, OCP AFRICA prides itself to be a multicultural African company working hand-in-hand with farmers and partners across the continent.
SSSN’s relationship with OCP Africa Nigeria Ltd dates back to 2018 immediately the company was established in Nigeria. From the initial financial support to the Society the company became a major sponsor of our young scientists to our annual conferences by way of provision of conference attendance grants. In the 2021 conference, twenty (20) young members of the society were so sponsored. The relationship has also been extended to the Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) through research project collaboration on finding solutions to problematic soils in the six geo-political zones.
In the current collaboration, the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) awarded a $1.4 million (N574 million) co-investment grant to OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited. The hub, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said the grant would help boost specialized fertilizer formulation and production in Nigeria to help farmers grow crops on a commercial scale and support food security in the country. While the bulk of the funds is to allow OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited to procure and install modern smart blending equipment in selected States and within its fertilizer blending plant facility, under construction in Kaduna State. The SSSN is collaborating to provide the needed scientific soil data from the selected States where FFI currently operates; Kebbi, Niger, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi and Cross Rivers. The Society is also to provide the socio-economic indices of farmers and farms within the States. In addition, the Society would also conduct field trials to validate the formulated specialty fertilizer blends.
It is envisaged that the outcome of the project which was initiated in 2021 will result in various fertilizer blends customized to the needs of rice, maize, soybean, cassava, tomato, and other staple crops grown in Nigeria. The specialty blends of fertilizers can increase farmers’ yields by 50 to 85 percent per hectare, depending on the crop. This project is quite a unique one, and SSSN is excited to partner with OCP Africa to contribute significantly toward achieving the food security goals in Nigeria.
Implémentation plans
With the capacity to produce 120 metric tons per hour of these blends and store up to 10,000 metric tons, Trade Hub said the OCP Africa expects at least 75,000 of targeted smallholder farmers within the catchment area of the plant to benefit from the blending plant’s operations and associated agronomy support services. It explained further that in order to ensure that farmers in underserved markets have seamless access to these fertilizers and other quality inputs, OCP Africa will establish 36 of its one-stop-shop Farm & Fortune Hubs across 13 Nigerian States. Also, the statement stated that as part of its co-investment, OCP Africa will provide the targeted 75,000 farmers with a wide range of agricultural services, including training on good agricultural practices and soil testing.
Mr. Caleb Usoh, OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited, Country Manager, explained that; “Over the years, farmers in Nigeria have recorded poor farm yields due to the quality of fertilizers and other inputs at their disposal. “The production and distribution of blended fertilizers combined with the training will help farmers produce better quality crops as well as increase their yields, which will lead to higher earnings and better returns for their farming business.” So far the socio-economic characterization of the expected 12,000 farmers and farms and over 1200 soil samples collection and analysis are on-going by the Society while OCP Africa Nigeria Limited is handling the procurement, training and installation of those smart blenders.
Key expectations
Through this co-investment partnership, about 826 jobs are expected to be created, including jobs for workers at the new facility, trainers, and those tapped to run the one-stop shops. In addition, and in support of the Trade Hub’s goal to ensure that traditionally marginalized groups have equal access to job opportunities in the agricultural sector, at least 50 per cent of these jobs will go to women and youth. The end goal of the project is to foster a thriving agricultural-business ecosystem in Nigeria.
