Exploring the prospects of building a fertiliser industry in Africa

GLOBAL INSIGHT

- Dr Tinashe Kapuya

Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered from low fertiliser use, and this has been driven by two main factors.

Firstly, smallholder farmers, most of whom are resource-poor, are unable to afford the high prices of fertilisers. They tend to be further discouraged from investing in fertiliser due to uncertainties arising from erratic rainfall and volatility in output prices (Harawa, et al, 2019).

Secondly, smallholder farmers are accustomed to discounted fertilisers due to input subsidies and are unwilling to pay the full price, in part, because they lack awareness of the full economic benefits of fertilisers when correctly utilised.

This is compounded by a reluctance to adopt fertilisers due to negative perceptions of inorganic fertilisers on the environment if not appropriately applied (Harawa, et al, 2019).

LOW APPLICATION RATE

To illustrate the gravity of the problem, the average application rate of mineral fertiliser in sub-Saharan Africa remains among the lowest in the world, averaging 20kg/ha of arable cropland, which is six times lower than the US's 128,8kg/ha, eight times less than the EU's 154,8kg/ha, nine times less than India's 175kg/ha, and 20 times less than China's 393,2kg/ha (World Bank, 2022).

Sub-Saharan Africa's relatively low average fertiliser application rates call for greater farmer education and awareness of the benefits of synthetic fertilisers, and support for agronomic practices that ensure inorganic fertilisers are more effective in increasing crop yields.