Business
Dangote on course to building Africa’s biggest fertilizer plant
Impact
The Dangote fertilizer plant is expected to create more than ten thousand direct and indirect jobs, and significantly boost Nigeria’s agriculture and economy.
For years, Nigeria has relied on imported fertilizer for its agriculture which contributes 46 – 47 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), and has expended reserves providing subsidies on the products to encourage farmers to purchase and increase farming output.
In 2011, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said to a senate agric committee that the country imports 630 billion naira (US$4.2 billion) worth of fertilizer annually.
But according to a statement by Dangote last year, at the signing of the agreement with Saipem, when the “plant is completed and commissioned, the country will become self sufficient in fertilizer production and even have the capacity to export the products to other African countries.”
In the heat of global food crisis and rising food insecurity, international organizations such as the World Bank, have been looking to Africa and aiding the continent to escalate food production has its untapped arable land and people hold the key to food security.
It is believed self-sufficient fertilizer production in Nigeria will reduce the cost price of the product and increase availability, therefore increasing farming productivity in the region.
Source: Ventures Africa
