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Rabat – Morocco’s fertilizer giant OCP and the World Bank signed a Memorandum of Understating (MoU) to boost the development of agriculture in countries in West Africa and the Sahel.
OCP Chairman and CEO Mostafa Terrab signed the partnership agreement with World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa Ousmane Diagana today at the World Bank and IMF Annual meetings taking place in Marrakech.
A statement from OCP said that the agreement aims to boost cooperation and programs benefiting five million farmers in different countries including Benin, Guinea, Mali, and Togo.
Covering 10 million hectares, the cooperation also seeks to accelerate investment and reform to “make fertilizers more accessible and affordable to farmers.
Commending the signing of the partnership, Terrab stressed that the projects are “an important step towards unlocking potential in global food security.
“The goal is to drive a just and sustainable agricultural transition, by widening the access of farmers in West Africa to customized fertilizers that nourish the soil and improve crop yields,” Terrab added.
Diagana also commented on the signing, stressing that both the World Bank and OCP believe in accelerating investment and reforms as part of their shared determination to support agriculture.
“This partnership between the World Bank and the OCP Group is turning the Lome Declaration into action,” he said.
The partnership between the two institutions will focus on different areas of cooperation, including improving soil health and fertility through digital soil mapping analysis, as well as establishing agricultural technology and service centers to train and support smallholder farmers.
The areas of cooperation will also cover the launch of a digital farming school program to foster local capacities and entrepreneurship to transform the agri-food sector, as well as strengthening the capacity of ECOWAS to operationalize its roadmap on fertilizers and soil health.
