MOROCCO – Morocco’s fertilizer giant OCP Group and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have announced a US$100 million partnership deal to address challenges hampering Africa’s agricultural potential.
The agreement was signed during USAID Administrator Samantha Power’s visit to the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic.
OCP Group, through its subsidiary OCP Africa, will invest US$30 million to support the efficient use of fertilizers across sub-Saharan Africa.
This investment will complement USAID’s US$40 million investment to expand the Space to Place Project, a key component of the new OCP-USAID agreement.
Altogether, the initiative will see a total investment of US$100 million, directly supporting the continental Action Plan adopted at the Nairobi Summit.
According to a press release from OCP, the partnership is set to launch two sustainable and innovative initiatives designed to enhance agricultural efficiency and productivity across the continent.
The four-year agreement seeks to engage various stakeholders and partners to advance these groundbreaking initiatives and encourage the adoption of new agricultural tools by farmers across Africa.
The Space to Place program aims to gather accurate local soil and climate data, which will form the foundation for a “Decision Support Tool” to guide farmers on the optimal use of fertilizers.
These fertilizers will be customized to precisely meet the nutrient requirements of their land and crops, thereby improving soil health and boosting productivity sustainably.
The second project under the agreement, the Rock Phosphate Amendment Project, will evaluate the impact of applying phosphate rock and innovative nutrient formulas on crop yields and soil fertility.
This project will develop a “Phosphate Rock Decisions Support System” to help farmers identify soils and crops that would benefit from this approach.
OCP’s CEO, Mostafa Terrab, expressed his satisfaction with the deepening partnership with USAID.
“At OCP Group, we are delighted to deepen our partnership with USAID, collaborating closely on these cutting-edge projects to help unleash the potential of African farmers to feed not only Africa but the world in ways that aim to enhance soil health, the environment, and the climate,” Terrab stated.
On her part, Samantha Power, USAID Administrator, highlighted the partnership’s importance, noting that the agreement will leverage geospatial technology to provide farmers with recommendations on more efficient fertilizer use.
“It harnesses data to provide real-world predictions and solutions to improve yields,” Power emphasized.
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