Rabat – France Development Agency (AFD) and Morocco’s fertilizer giant OCP are cementing their partnership through the signing of a €350 million financing agreement to support the Moroccan group’s ambitious green investment program.
OCP’s investment program has a total value of $13 billion, covering the period of 2023-2027. The program seeks to increase OCP’s fertilizer production capacity while also taking into account the group’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
The primary goal of OCP is to supply all its industrial facilities with green energy by 2027, produced through wind, solar, hydroelectric, and cogeneration sources.
A statement from OCP on Monday doubled down on their ambition to use 100% clean energy by 2027 through the program, and to fully cover its industrial water needs with non-conventional sources.
“[The program] also aims to increase the group’s capacity to produce decarbonized fertilizers, notably by integrating green ammonia, to progressively reduce its carbon footprint and achieve carbon neutrality across its entire value chain by 2040,” the statement said.
The same initiative also aims to benefit farmers, particularly in Africa, by providing them with green fertilizers to contribute to their yield growth. These fertilizers are customized to serve farmers’ needs depending on local crops, climates, and soils.
According to OCP, the fund from AFD will be “disbursed based on the achievement of performance indicators, focusing on increasing production capacity for clean energy and non-conventional water, developing green hydrogen and green ammonia production, and integrating climate and biodiversity indicators to OCP’s risk management processes.”
OCP also recalled an agreement it signed with AFD recently, for the multi-stakeholder platform dubbed “Mobilizing for Agricultural Value Chains in Africa”, led by INNOVX.
“The platform aims to mobilize and structure financing mechanisms for agricultural value chains in Africa and to strengthen food production and distribution systems by supporting innovative initiatives and start-ups across the continent,” OCP concluded.
The signing of the agreement comes during an AFD delegation’s high-level visit to Morocco. AFD General Director Remy Rioux is leading the delegation, which is engaging in discussions between the agency and senior officials and representatives from different institutions to cement cooperation at all levels.
As part of the visit, AFD pledged €150 million investment plan in Morocco’s southern provinces in Laayoune and Dakhla. The pledges align with France’s newfound position, recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in the Western Sahara.
