With an estimated 346 million people in Africa negatively impacted by a severe food crisis, the use of fertilisers has become more central...
At the just-ended AGRF Summit in the Kigali, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, urged Africa to increase fertiliser use, irrigation and thermal power in order to ensure food security.
For example, with multiplied irrigation and fertiliser use, the country has increased its wheat production from a three-month supply to a 15-month supply, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture.“Our wheat came from Ukraine and our fertilisers from the Russian federation. We have introduced a model that says that we need to have food security by exploiting domestic resources, and we have solved that big problem.
‘‘We need leaders who understand the need to prioritise modern agriculture and deliver the Green Revolution,” he said. “Productivity in agriculture in Tanzania has remained low due to low technology and limited use of fertiliser. We still depend on the vagaries of weather…we still have huge post-harvest losses to the tune of 30 per cent,” Philip Mpango, Vice President of Tanzania said.“But we now have a fertiliser factory under construction and soon we shall have two, to cover up for the deficit in fertiliser use.