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Rabat – The managing director of OCP Africa Fertilisers Nigeria, Mohamed Hettiti, said in Lagos that OCP will build two industrial fertilizer plants in Nigeria, the Nigerian outlet Vanguard reported Wednesday.
Speaking at a recent press meeting in Lagos, Hettiti said that the plants will “help to boost local production, create permanent jobs and facilitate export opportunities,” according to Vanguard.
The plants, according to Hettiri, will also ensure a decrease in Nigerian imports of NPK fertilizers, which combine three macronutrients: Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
At the end of last year, OCP Group announced plans to triple its production of fertilizer for other African countries through its “Africa Fertilizer Complex.” The unit produces nearly 1 million tons of fertilizer a year for Africa.
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“We have an objective to balance the trade between Morocco and Nigeria. We do not want only importation into Nigeria. Nigeria is importing DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphorous) fertiliser from Morocco,” the Nigerian magazine quoted Hettiti as saying.
“We want to leverage on the local raw material that is abundant in Nigeria which is ammonia,” he stressed.
The planned plant, whose location has not been finalized yet, will produce ammonia, according to Hettiti, that can be exported to Morocco. For this reason, “We are investing that amount to build a DAP plant.”
The managing director pointed out that OCP’s subsidiary in Nigeria is currently importing DAP fertilizer, including phosphate and ammonia. “But with the plant here, only phosphate will be imported from Morocco, then we blend here and even export.”
Through the plants, OCP Africa has set ambitious goals to reach more farmers in Nigeria by the end of this year.
“We have reached out to 10,000 farmers in Kaduna and Gombe states,” Hettiti said.
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“In 2018, we targeted 70,000 but as at November, we have done 67,600 in Kaduna, Katsina, Bauchi and Kano states. In 2019, we have proposed to reach out to 100,000,” Hettiti continued.
Nigeria and other neighboring countries will be the industrial plants’ main market.
Africa Fertilisers Nigeria is one of the networks of OCP Africa, a subsidiary of Morocco’s OCP Group. Created in 2016, OCP Africa is an execution of OCP’s partnerships in Nigeria and other African countries.
OCP Group, which holds 75 percent of the world’s phosphate reserves, is one of the leading exporters and producers of raw phosphate, phosphate-based fertilizers, and phosphoric acid in the world. The company develops precision agriculture techniques to help farmers improve the quality and yield of their crops.
