Morocco’s OCP Group inaugurates state-of-the-art fertilizer blending plant in Nigeria, its first on the continent

The OCP Group has inaugurated in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, a state-of-the-art fertilizer blending plant, its first on the continent.

Extending over 10 hectares, this facility houses a blending unit with a production capacity of 120 tons per hour; a 25,000-ton storage unit; a modern training center dedicated to the various partners; a laboratory equipped with the latest analysis technologies to ensure product quality control and soil analysis and characterization; and a pilot farm for carrying out agronomic trials and training farmers.

On this occasion, the Director General of OCP Africa, Mohamed Anouar Jamali, who attended the inauguration ceremony said “this installation is not only intended for the production of fertilizers, but also to have a profound impact on the agricultural value chain of the country”. “OCP Africa is committed to contributing to the transformation of the food system on the continent, and Nigeria represents a strategic hub for our group,” he said.

More than an industrial facility, the Kaduna blending unit is a center of excellence and service delivery available to OCP partners and Nigerian farmers to improve and increase soil yields in order to achieve food security. It is also a space for sharing experiences, knowledge and know-how between the OCP Group and stakeholders in the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

As one of the three fertilizer blending units planned in Nigeria (the other two are under construction in Ogun and Sokoto), this plant is part of the partnership between the OCP Group and the Nigerian government aimed at supporting the development of Nigerian farming.

It is also part of the “Presidential Fertilizer Initiative” (PFI) and the project to develop a multi-purpose industrial platform for the production of ammonia and fertilizer, which will allow Nigeria to produce fertilizers locally while enhancing local Nigerian natural resources and benefiting from the supply of Moroccan phosphate.

“Every new factory, every new store, every new industrial complex generates employment and income that helps support families and reduce poverty in our state,” said the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.

“OCP Africa’s establishment of a fertilizer production plant in Kaduna State also widens our farmers’ access to fertilizers”, El-Rufai said, noting that “it helps to improve the availability of a very essential component for agriculture”.

For his part, the Vice-President West Africa and Managing Director of OCP Africa Nigeria, Mohamed Hettiti, declared: “At OCP, we are convinced that the efficient use of customized fertilizers is one of the best ways to increase farmers’ productivity.

In 2016, OCP Group entered into a partnership with the Fertilizer Producers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), supported by the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund (NSIA).

This collaboration spans the entire agricultural value chain, from implementing fertilizer solutions tailored to local soils and crops, to improving the availability of fertilizers at competitive prices on the local market, through the implementation of support measures for Nigerian farmers and the contribution to the development of the logistics chain and the strengthening of the local distribution network.