Nigeria’s fertiliser production is set to hit 3.2 million metric tons at the end of year as OCP Africa – a top producer of phosphate-based fertilizers launches $13.4 million blending plant in Kaduna State.
The fertiliser plant which is one of the three the company has built in the country has already commenced operation.
The other two include the Ogun State blending plant projected to become operational by January 2023 and the Sokoto plant proposed for launching between April and May 2023. The three plants combined will produce 500,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser annually.
Caleb Usoh, deputy managing director, programme incubation for West Africa, OCP Africa, disclosed this while speaking recently to journalists ahead of the formal inauguration of the Kaduna fertiliser blending plant.
He said each of the blending plants has a production capacity of 120metric tons per hour and a holding capacity of 25,000metric tons of finished product.
He added that the investment is made to strengthen the fertiliser manufacturing value chains. “We are optimistic that it would aid the eradication of substandard fertiliser products in Nigeria’s industrial landscape, particularly in the farming inputs as expressed in the National Fertilser Control Act 2020.”
“The plant currently operates on a Toll Blending partnership arrangement that allows industry players and brand owners to leverage on OCP Africa’s plant capacity and expertise to provide quality fertilizers to their customers,” he said.
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“The Kaduna plant currently engages over 250 persons in different job function all to foster a sustainable agricultural ecosystem in Nigeria,” he added.
According to him, each of the agricultural plants, known in the company’s parlance as Farm & Fortune Hubs, and targeted at reaching the farmers directly, comprises a fertiliser blending plant, an agribooster, agripromoters, the OCP School Lab project; a model farm, storage space, and a greenhouse, among other facilities.
Usoh said that OCP Africa is equally investing in partnership with the Nigerian government to build an industrial platform in Akwa Ibom State valued at $1.5 billion.
He also added that to further boost local production of fertilizers and enhances export capacity of Nigeria, OCP Africa is investing in a Joint Venture with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to develop an Ammonia and DAP Industrial plant.
“The $1.4 billion Industrial Plant project, to be cited in Akwa-Ibom is expected to utilize Nigerian gas and Moroccan phosphate to produce 750,000MT of ammonia and 1,000,000MT of phosphate fertilizers annually by 2025.”
“With the Nigerian consumption of NPK fertilizer blends projected to exceed 4,500,000 MT by the year 2030, OCP Africa is supporting the projected demand with massive investments in fertilizer production, R&D, distribution channel support, farmer-centric initiatives, among others with a view to actualizing the Nigeria vision of ensuring self-sufficiency in food production.”
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