The agency established to drive investments in Nigeria’s mining sector, Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) and a subsidiary of Morrocco based OCP Group, OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited (OCP) has signed a technical cooperation agreement in Casablanca Morocco relating to the exploration and development of Nigeria’s phosphate deposits in the Sokoto Basin.
This Agreement will ensure technical cooperation between SMDF and OCP Africa, in the fields of phosphates exploration and appraisal; support SMDF effort to develop phosphate mining and provide training and academic exchanges, aimed at developing human capacity in the Nigerian mining sector through the training of exploration geologists and mining engineers.
Speaking on the strategic partnership, Hajiya Shinkafi, Executive Secretary at the Solid Minerals Development Fund stated that Phosphate is one of the 5 strategic minerals that have been identified by the SMDF for immediate intervention.
“Agriculture and mining have been put at the forefront of the current government’s priorities, and agro-minerals (e.g. phosphate) readily provide a good link between the two important subsectors of the economy,” Shinkafi said.
Mohamed Hettiti, Managing Director at OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited stated that “the Solid Minerals Development Fund targets development of the phosphate mining industry in Nigeria which is why OCP will leverage on its capabilities and technical know-how to achieve those objectives.
Based on the success of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved the strategic exploration and development of phosphate and potash deposits across the country as an extension of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative.
Nigeria is the biggest agriculture market and crop producer, and amongst the biggest consumers of agricultural nutrients in Africa. With the country’s population projected to hit 400 million by 2050, crop production will need to keep up to ensure agricultural self-sufficiency in the country. The local production of phosphate will provide a cost-effective solution of increasing Nigeria’s phosphate fertilizers application rate which at 2kg/hectare is far below the global average of 16kg/hectare and peer countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia at 19kg/hectare and 13kg/hectare respectively.
“We shall join forces to support SMDF effort in strengthening the country’s phosphate mining capabilities and capacities to allow Nigeria supports the Agricultural Sector with local sources of phosphate,” Hettiti said.
Based on regional application rates, Nigeria has the potential to consume 2.4 million tons of phosphate fertilizers per annum but currently consume less than 200,000 tons, so the exploitation of Sokoto Phosphate Deposits provides an economically viable method of achieving this potential.
SMDF is a unique government funding vehicle focused on driving key interventions that maximize recovery and impact of capital deployed as over $500million to $600million of projects have been identified across formalization, data development, production and processing in the next 5 years, with the potential to unlock an additional $1.5billion in capital spend from third parties required to finally commercialize the estimated $700 million – $1 trillion Nigeria solid minerals endowment.
OCP plays an important role in feeding a growing global population, by providing essential elements for soil fertility and plants growth. With almost a century of experience and revenues reaching $ 5.95 billion in 2018, OCP Group is a leader in the phosphate rock and the world’s first producer of phosphate-based fertilizers.
Based in Morocco, OCP Africa 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 work hand-in-hand with farmers to contribute to unlocking Africa’s vast agricultural potential.
