OCP Africa has partnered with the Nigerian Institute of Soil Science (NISS) to improve soil nutrients, with the aim of boosting Nigerian farmers’ productivity. The two parties on March 24 inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) following a one-day inception workshop held in Jahi, in the Nigerian state of Abuja, according to a statement on NISS’ website.
The project is aimed at improving farmers’ yield per hectare through a better understanding of soil management. Nigerian farmers’ low yield per hectare is attributed to poor soil conditions, according to a report this week by Nigeria’s Business Day, citing OCP Africa Nigeria Country Manager and OCP Africa Deputy Managing Director, Caleb Usoh.
Under the partnership agreement, OCP Africa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morocco’s OCP SA, will provide the financial support, while NISS will provide technical support.
The project aligns with several other OCP Africa farmer-centric projects aimed at bringing precision to the practice of agriculture in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, said Usoh.
In a separate development, OCP Africa has partnered with research institutions in Nigeria to grow the West African country’s wheat production by developing a specialized fertilizer for wheat, according to Business Day.
OCP Africa is reported to have partnered with Nigerian research institutions such as the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IART) and BUK to increase wheat production.
According to the report, citing a presentation on “The Status of Wheat Research and Production in Nigeria” by former Executive Director at LCRI, Oluwasina Olabanji, Nigeria needs 5.1 million mt of wheat grain annually, but presently produces just 300,000 mt (basis 2017 data) and consequently depends on imports to meet the massive shortfall.