AfDB to boost fertilizer production

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a US$75 million loan agreement with Nigeria’s Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited. The loan would enable Indorama to increase its fertilizer production and develop a port terminal for exports, supporting food production and food security across regional and international markets, while fostering job creation in Nigeria. The expansion would include the development of a third urea fertilizer production line and a new shipping terminal at Indorama’s facilities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The new production line is expected to have an annual capacity of 1.4 million metric tonnes of urea, one of the most widely-used fertilizers worldwide. Indorama’s two operational urea fertilizer lines serve Nigeria’s domestic market, supporting the country’s agriculture sector, which accounts for a quarter of its Gross Domestic Product and employs about a third of its labour force. The new production line and terminal are expected to create up to 8,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country. The Acting Director of Industrial and Trade Development Department at the AfDB, Ousmane Fall, said “the African Development Bank is proud of its continued partnership with Indorama, the IFC and other lenders on this critical project as it is aligned with our strategic priorities to Feed and Industrialise Africa while generating significant development outcomes in Nigeria”.

Meanwhile, in a continuous effort to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability in Kano State, HortiNigeria; a Dutch-funded horticultural programme implemented in Kano, Kaduna, Ogun and Oyo states, has carried out a comprehensive training programme for agro-dealers from the various intervention areas that the programme covers. The HortiNigeria Agribusiness Coordinator, Danjuma Makama, highlighted that the training was geared towards empowering agro-dealers by creating a ripple effect that would benefit the entire agribusiness clusters being established in collaboration with other actors across the various nodes of the value chain in Kano State. He disclosed that the training was part of HortiNigeria’s broader efforts to strengthen the horticulture sub-sector value chain aimed at equipping local agro-dealers with advanced knowledge and skills by fostering a strong agribusiness cluster.

Makama added that currently, HortiNigeria is implementing a Tuta Absoluta Integrated Pest Management (IPM) campaign, where Agro-input dealers would play a critical role. According to him, the dealers will be able to provide farmers with advisory services on the solutions to tackle the pest while providing the necessary inputs to deal with it. Responding on behalf of the participants, Abdullahi Jibril from Dawakin Kudin revealed that the training would no doubt strengthen the relationship between agro-dealers and farmers for effective agricultural practices in the state, explaining that the training was timely, as he called on participants to put into practice what they have been taught.