FG, Moroccan firm partner on fertiliser production

The federal government and the OCP Group of Morocco have sealed a bouquet of agreements to boost fertiliser production for Nigerian farmers.

The agreement was signed at the University Mohamed VI Polytechnic in Morocco by OCP Africa and the Nigerian delegation led by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.

The agreement will activate the utilization of Nigerian gas and Moroccan phosphate to produce 750,000 tons of ammonia and one million tons of phosphate fertilisers annually by 2025.

The business visit is a follow up to the industrial project which was officially launched in June 2018 following the success of the first phase of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative supported by OCP.

The project was first announced during the official visit to Morocco of President Muhammadu Buhari and is aimed at developing a versatile industrial platform in Nigeria.

To achieve the set target, a number of agreements were signed between OCP Africa, the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to commit to the second phase of the Nigerian Presidential Fertilizer Initiative.

A shareholders’ agreement was also signed between OCP Africa and the NSIA for the creation of the joint venture company.

This agreement would oversee the development of a versatile industrial platform that will produce ammonia and fertilisers in Nigeria.