African Development Bank and Morocco’s OCP Plan Emergency Fertilizer Supply to Combat Food Crisis

At a meeting in mid-May, the AfDB stated that the OCP could provide 200,000 tons of phosphate and blended fertilizers, and that Nigeria could provide 300,000 tons of urea, reports the specialized site Devdiscourse, specifying that the agreement is part of the AfDB’s strategy to provide half a million tons of fertilizers to West Africa by August, in order to avert an imminent food crisis.

To secure this volume of fertilizers, the AfDB is mobilizing $1.5 billion to mitigate disruptions in the global commodity market and their impact on rising fertilizer prices. The financial institution points out that the surge in fertilizer prices threatens to significantly reduce agricultural inputs on the continent, as it prepares for a supply deficit of two million tons. After the severe supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine is negatively impacting global food systems.

In the same dynamic, the AfDB is organizing a series of meetings with the continent’s and beyond’s main fertilizer producers, to guarantee the necessary volume. "We are also talking to partners and farmers. Fertilizer needs are double at the moment, half of the fertilizer in May and June for some planting seasons, depending on the location on the continent," it said in a statement to Reuters. "The second half, called top dressing, is needed a month or two months later," it added.