OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited receives $1.4 million co-investment grant from Trade Hub
OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited received a $1.4 million (N574 million) co-investment grant from the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub), according to the announcement.
According to the center, which is supported by USAID, the grant would increase Nigeria’s production of specialized fertilizers to enable farmers in growing crops on a commercial scale and improve national food security.
“Trade Hub has given a $1.4 million co-investment grant to OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Ltd for the installation of sophisticated blending equipment within its fertilizer blending plant facility, under development in Kaduna State,” said Michael Clements, Chief of Party at Trade Hub.
The best-in-class blending machinery will fill the vacuum left by the absence of specialized fertilizers needed to grow crops on a wide scale and promote national food security.
The planned facility and equipment, according to the announcement, will generate different fertilizer mixes that are specifically formulated to meet the requirements of Nigerian staple crops like rice, maize, soybean, cassava, tomato, and others.
The statement emphasizes that, depending on the crop, customized fertilizer blends can enhance farmers’ yields by 50 to 85% per hectare. “This initiative is quite a unique one, and we are thrilled to join with OCP Africa to complement the Nigerian government’s policy to harness locally accessible resources to increase food production capacities,” stated Mr. Clements. According to the USAID Feed the Future initiative, “Such measures considerably contribute toward reaching the food security goals in Nigeria,” he said.
