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Business Reporter
In light of ongoing instability in Eastern Europe, which has affected exports of a number of key commodities, the Government is looking at ramping up production of fertilisers, Industry, and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza said yesterday.
Continuing to rely on imports would put the country at huge risk of food insecurity due to its effect on agriculture, Dr Nzenza said, adding that global supply concerns of fertilizer were discussed at the World Economic Forum (WEF) that took place in Davos, Switzerland last week.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has partly led to cuts in fertiliser shipments across the world by major producers; prices reaching record highs, with far-reaching consequences for farmers.
With Russia’s status as a primary exporter of ammonia, knock-on effects from sanctions imposed on the country by western countries over its military operations in Ukraine have disrupted the fertilizer supply chain, triggering concerns over food security.
Last year, Russia and Belarus accounted for 40 percent of global exports of potash. Russia also accounted for 22 percent of global exports of ammonia gas, 14 percent of global urea shipments and 14 percent of mono ammonium phosphate trade.
“We had a fruitful discussion in Davos and major issues that were discussed included how; do we recover from the Covid 19 pandemic, food security, climate change and fertilizer (supply constraints),” said Minister Nzenza. “There is serious concern that food security will be affected as a result of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. “As a result, some of the countries we used to rely on to export fertiliser to Zimbabwe will not be able to provide the fertiliser we need to ensure food security. So some of the discussions were to focus on how to ensure food security.”
While the Government has assured the nation of adequate supplies of fertiliser for the winter season, there are concerns over potential shortages during the summer cropping season.
Dr Nzenza said the Government would focus on increasing local production to minimise the impact of the looming global shortages of fertilisers. Recently, Dr Nzenza said the Government would need to urgently avail nearly US$80 million to recapitalize Dorowa Minerals, the country’s sole miner of phosphates, and Zimbabwe Phosphate Company (Zimphos), which processes the superphosphates into nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound (NPK) fertilizers.
According to analysts and officials, Africa remains highly exposed to Instability in Eastern Europe.
Last week, the African Development Bank approved a US$1,5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility to address the looming food crisis threatening Africa due to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The facility will provide agricultural seeds to 20 million African producers. The seed varieties include wheat, maize, rice and soybeans. The objective is to produce an additional 38 million tonnes of food and to generate US$12 billion in value over the next two years.
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