TOGO – Singapore-based manufacturer and supplier of farm inputs such as fertilizer, agrochemicals, and specialty fertilizers, Nutrisource, is set to inaugurate its first NPK fertilizer manufacturing plant in sub-Saharan Africa in Togo by the end of this quarter.

“Construction is already complete and equipment is being installed. Production can start on May/June 2023,” an official from Arise IPP, the operator that manages the PIA, said.

Located on the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA) in Togo, the plant is expected to reach a production capacity of 200,000 tons per year, which will help to strengthen the supply of quality fertilizers for local farmers.

The project is part of a larger investment–valued at CFA4.9 billion (US$7.8m)–that Nutrisource intends to make in the agro-food and agro-industry.

The investment in the NPK plant follows the successful launch of its distribution activities in Uganda and Kenya in 2020.

The new factory should contribute to the efforts of the Togolese government to boost the agricultural sector, notably by improving farmers’ access to cheaper but better fertilizers and consequently their yields and earnings.

In Togo, agriculture is the top employing sector, employing 65% of the active population and representing nearly 40% of the GDP.

To meet future needs of nutrient-deficient markets with high agricultural potential, the company plans to set up three more factories in sub-Saharan Africa to meet the needs of nutrient-deficient markets with high agricultural potential.

Murari said. Rakshit, CEO of Nutrisource, noted: “The ambition is to replicate the Togolese experience in three other regions in Africa, and each region will be supplied from a satellite blending plant, as well as an import and distribution business.”

The supply shortage of fertilizer in the world and specifically in Africa has attracted investments in a bid to fill the niche and assure the continent it can reach its goal of becoming the world’s food basket.

Recently, a delegation of FOMI met with Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) to discuss the prospects of conducting efficacy trials of FOMI products for analysis and farmers’ adoption towards establishing an organo-mineral fertilizers plant in Rwanda.

FOMI is a company based in Burundi and Tanzania, manufacturing organo-mineral fertilizers. Organo-mineral fertilizer is a fertilizer produced by adding some mineral components to the decomposed organic matter that has formed fertilizer.

Additionally, the Moroccan OCP Group is to start the construction of a fertilizer factory in the municipality of Kisarawe, Tanzania, after both parties comprising representatives of the company and the Tanzania government reached a deal.

In the latest data gathered over the last seven years, by the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC) Kenya and African Union Commission (AUC), the report said fertilizer consumption is increasing in Africa but at a slower rate.

The report noted that poorly functioning value chains and lack of reliable data are some of the hindrances to Kenya and the rest of Africa achieving best practices in fertilizer use.

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