Taiwo Hassan 
Morocco-based OCP Group, a global leader in plant nutrition and world’s largest producer of phosphate-based fertilisers, has disclosed that it is committing to reserve over four million tonnes of fertilisers for African farmers in 2023. The project is aimed at boosting food security in the continent. Its Group’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mostafa Terrab, disclosed this at the World Bank Annual Meetings recently.
According to him, this is more than double OCP’s supply to the continent in 2021 and represents over a quarter of OCP’s expected total output. In line with OCP’s farmercentric approach, Terrab explained that this fertiliser supply programme would include training and capacity building alongside local partners. He said: “This allocation ensures that the right fertilisers will be available to the whole continent, helping to boost yields for 44 million farmers across 35 countries, including Morocco, where the company is based.” The group’s chairman stated that OCP Africa had local offices in many African countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Benin, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Rwanda) and is present on the ground in many others.
In addition, he added that it was also helping to secure the production of competitive fertilisers near major agricultural regions, to strengthen its logistical capacities and to develop new local distribution. The fertiliser guru noted that OCP had heavily invested in the development of eco-responsible fertiliser production capacity, reaching 15 MT of finished product by 2023, from a base of 3MT in 2008, saying “this permits us to respond to Africa’s urgent needs while also supporting farmers around the world.” To him, the OCP Group promotes a holistic approach that brings together partners throughout the value chain to provide the support that farm-ers need to be successful and to ensure that the continent’s vast farming potential is unlocked for the benefit of Africa and the world.
His word: “This current effort builds upon our longterm engagement by OCP in Africa. Our subsidiary OCP Africa has developed a comprehensive farmer-centric approach, which has already reached more than two million farmers with fertilizer customisation, soil mapping, training, field trials and market linkages. “The current geopolitical situation reveals deeper systemic fragilities in global agricultural systems. We have to address the challenges facing African farmers, from infrastructure to knowledge to market access to financing. “We are glad to be able to do our part and we are thankful for the excellent dialogue and collaboration with the World Bank, IFC, USAID, as well as other multilateral and development agencies involved in this effort, given their demonstrated leadership and long-term commitment to African development.”
He stressed that the OCP Group used rock phosphate and phosphoric acid as a base for plant nutrition products used by farmers across the in line with its standard, fortified and soluble fertilisers. About OCP Group, Terrab said the company played an important role in feeding a growing global population by providing essential elements for soil fertility and plant growth. With a century of experience and revenues reaching $9.4 billion in 2021, OCP is a leader in plant nutrition and the world’s largest producer of phosphatebased fertilisers. Headquartered in Morocco and present on five continents, OCP works in close partnership with more than 350 customers across the world. Closer to home, OCP is committed to accelerating Africa’s environmental and social development and implement sustainable and prosperous agriculture through continuous innovation. The Group is firmly convinced that leadership and profitability are necessarily synonymous with social responsibility and sustainable development. Its strategic vision is rooted in the meeting of these two dimensions.