The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has given the green light to a project aimed at providing 60,000 metric tons of fertilizer to 400,000 small-scale farmers in Uganda. This endeavor is part of the Fertilizer Financing for Sustainable Agriculture Management project.
Under this project, the African Fertilizer Financing mechanism will extend a $2 million partial trade credit guarantee and a grant of $877,842 to the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership, a non-profit organization that collaborates with both public and private sector partners. Their objective is to enhance the fertilizer market and strengthen input value-chains across Africa.
Over the course of three years, this initiative will support two wholesalers in selling fertilizer with a value exceeding 15 times the value of the partial trade credit guarantee. It will also connect these wholesalers with approximately 25 hub agro-dealers and 125 retail agro-dealers, who will subsequently distribute the fertilizer to farmers.
The project’s primary goal is to reduce the risks associated with suppliers providing fertilizers to wholesalers on credit. Furthermore, it aims to enhance crop yields and provide training to 3.4 percent of the targeted farmers, including 40 percent women, on utilizing improved seeds, optimizing crop nutrition, and adopting best farming practices.
Marie Claire Kalihangabo, the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism Coordinator, emphasized the importance of this project in addressing Uganda’s low fertilizer consumption of about 2.5 kg per hectare. She believes that it will make fertilizer more accessible and appropriately utilized by farmers, ultimately improving agricultural productivity and enhancing food security in Uganda.
The project aligns with the Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy, which seeks to increase food productivity and security in the region.
