MOFA and OCP Group sign two agreements
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the OCP Group have signed two additional agreements to strengthen key aspects of Ghana’s agriculture industry.
A joint statement from the two institutions named the agreements as Cooperation Agreement for farmer centric activities, soil mapping, innovation and digital farmer registration; and a Term Sheet for industrial project.
The arrangements follow the Memorandum of Understanding the two signed in September 2018, which set out to improve the fertilizer value chain to provide “customized fertilizers at competitive prices to Ghanaian farmers.”
This partnership offers stakeholders, in the fertilizer value chain, a range of high value-added services to provide the farmers with adapted and competitive fertilizers.
Included are all the resources tailored to their success: training for a better knowledge of crops, how best to maximize soil nutrition and a better financial inclusion.
The key initiatives include a holistic offer to farmers (access to inputs, training, financing, market linkages, Farmers School).
Alongside this latest Cooperation Agreement, OCP has also launched its IMPULSE programme, developed by the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), which aims at accelerating start-ups and active agri-entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.
In August 2019, Accra hosted the first stage of the IMPULSE programme’s African tour.
The project of a fertilizer production plant, announced last September is to be located in the western part of Ghana, in the Jomoro District.
While the project is still in its conceptual phase, topographic and geotechnical studies are in progress.
With the availability and processing of the natural resources of both countries, combining natural gas from Ghana and phosphate from Morocco, the industrial unit is expected to have a fertilizer’s production capacity of one million tonnes.
In addition, this project will promote the development of the fertilizer value chain through tailored fertilizers produced locally for the Ghanaian market, involving the existing ecosystem of blending operators, while meeting the nutrient requirements adapted to local soil and crops.
OCP Group will also offer a wide range of services including the promotion of entrepreneurship through the recently launched IMPULSE programme, focused on four strategic fields including Agriculture.
The joint MoFA and OCP initiatives are perfectly aligned with Ghana’s strategy to boost the agricultural sector through its flagship programme: “Planting for Food and Jobs”.
Ultimately, these joint initiatives will help employability, provide access to the quality inputs at a competitive price and significantly increase balanced fertilizer consumption by Ghanaian farmers.
Some 85,000 farmers have benefited from the Agribooster and OCP School Lab programmes since 2017. The Cooperation Agreement between MOFA and OCP plans to reach more than 500,000 farmers over the next three years, with at least 30 per cent being women.
With almost a century of experience and revenues reaching $5.95 billion in 2018, OCP Group is a leader in the phosphate rock and the world’s first producer of phosphate-based fertilizers.
Source: GNA