OCP creates OCP Africa

Marrakech, Morocco—OCP Group on Feb. 25 officially announced the creation of a new subsidiary, OCP Africa. OCP says the new entity aims to contribute to meeting the challenge of creating structured, efficient, and sustainable agriculture on the continent of Africa by providing agricultural producers with all the resources they need in order to succeed: suitable, affordable products, services and partnerships, logistics, and financial solutions. The company says it will make a massive investment in research and innovation and is strengthening its agronomic skills to serve sustainable, precision agriculture. A first fertilizer production unit, with a capacity of 1 million mt/y, the African Fertilizer Complex (AFC), was inaugurated Feb. 1 (GM Feb. 5, p. 14), with more industrial projects expected in sub-Saharan Africa close to consumer markets. The company is putting in place, both internally and with its local partners, storage and blending facilities in ports and close to consumer areas. The company also plans to implement several local and international partnerships in order to provide farmers with a complete range of products and services working towards an increase in both yield and income. OCI Africa plans to open about 15 subsidiaries in Africa over the coming months, with offices in 16 countries. The objective is to commit specifically in each country, taking into account the diversity of geographies and the maturity of their markets. The company said it expects to employ a staff of 240 by the end of 2016, with some 15 nationalities already represented.