Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The newly-launched 120-tonne per hour fertiliser blending plant built by OCP Africa, will boost farming activities and reduce poverty in Nigeria, the Kaduna state Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has said.
A statement from the company said the governor spoke in Kaduna while performing the official launch of the plant estimated at over $14 million and which is capable of rolling out some of the most modern fertiliser blends.
The fertiliser blending plant, tagged the ‘Kaduna Centre of Excellence’, the company said, was conceived to stimulate Nigeria’s agro-value-chain and grow food production.
Describing it as a ‘signature investment’, the governor added that the realisation of the OCP vision was evidence that Kaduna state remains a safe haven for investors, reason he said global businesses like are responding to the state’s investment push.
“For us in Kaduna state, every new factory implies more jobs, bringing incomes that help to feed families and reduce poverty in our state. OCP Africa locating a fertiliser blending plant and centre of excellence within Kaduna state also expands the access that our farmers have to fertiliser supplies and agronomic support.,” he noted.
In his welcome remarks, Chief Executive Officer, OCP Africa, Dr Mohamed Jamali, said the plant was a strategic investment tailored toward strengthening Nigeria’s fertiliser industry.
The facility, he said, was established not just to blend fertilisers, but mainly to profoundly impact the country’s agricultural value chain.
“OCP Africa is committed to contributing to the transformation of food systems in the continent, and Nigeria bears a strategic focus for our company. That is why in 2016, we partnered with the Fertiliser Producers & Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FPSAN) under the presidential fertiliser initiative, supported by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), ”Jamali noted.
Also, the Senior Vice President, OCP Africa, Mr. Mohamed Hettiti, who introduced the key features of the blending plant pointed out that the Kaduna plant has at its core a 120 metric tons per hour process blending plant with a ‘dosing system’ capable of producing macro and micro nutrients as well as a liquid dosing feature.
