Summit tips Africa on subsidies, fertiliser supply
Experts at the ongoing Feed Africa Summit have challenged governments dependent on fertiliser and subsidies such as Malawi to institute strategies that can simplify availability of inputs on the local market.
The experts attending the conference which opened on Wednesday in Dakar, Senegal want countries to reduce dependency on Russia as the main fertiliser supplier, but try and understand trade flows and appreciate regional capacity to provide fertiliser, which they hope will build resilience to shocks in the supply chain, according to information made available to The Nation.
Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale and Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe are attending the summit which offers a vital opportunity to advance African agriculture, and transform the continent’s economies.
During a panel discussion yesterday on the Future of Fertiliser, Arne Cartridge, the adviser to the chief executive officer at Yara, a company that was supposed to supply fertiliser to Malawi in the botched Barkaat Foods Limited deal, urged countries to be swift in changing strategies.
He said: “Reduce dependency not only on Russia fertiliser. But also understand trade flows of fertiliser supply and how you can build resilience to huge shocks that come by climate or political issues.
“As we go into this year [2023], let’s roll up our sleeves and help each other, public and private and to see what are the short terms solutions.”
Cartridge further called for transparency in tender process when African governments are procuring fertilisers.
Senegal’s Minister of Agriculture, Rural Equipment and Food Sovereignty Aly Ngouille Ndiaye, agreed with Cartridge, saying governments and the private sector on the continent need to work together to avoid the shortage of the commodity experienced last year.
He said: “The collaboration with the private sector needs to be strengthened. In all this, we need transparency so that the product can be easily accessed by all.”
At home, the Affordable Inputs Programme this year has been marred by numerous irregularities including shortage of supply of fertiliser, attributed to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
