Russian company extends fertiliser donation in Africa

FOLLOWING its donation of 23 000 tonnes to Zimbabwe earlier this month, Russia’s giant fertiliser manufacturing company, Uralchem Group, has shipped 34 000 tonnes of potash to Nigeria to enhance food security in the continent.

Nigeria becomes the latest country to receive fertilizer from the Uralchem Group with Malawi, Kenya and Zimbabwe among some of the beneficiaries.

This is part of the company’s commitment to donate 300 000 tonnes of fertilizer to African countries.

In a statement Thursday, the company revealed that the shipment of the fertiliser is now en-route to Nigeria.

“Uralchem Group announces that a humanitarian shipment of over 34 000 tonnes of potash has been fully loaded onto a vessel in the port of Ventspils, Latvia, and is now en route to Nigeria. The delivery is again facilitated by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which chartered a bulk carrier to transport the fertiliser as part of UNCTAD-led efforts. As with the previous joint shipments, Uralchem Group covered the sea freight and other delivery costs. The shipment for Nigeria is the Group’s fifth donation in a series of humanitarian deliveries of its fertilisers to Africa,” reads the statement.

Since 2022, the Uralchem Group has dispatched 134 000 tonnes of fertilisers to the continent.

“Over 111 000 tonnes from this amount were shipped in cooperation with WFP from European ports and warehouses — to Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and now to Nigeria. Uralchem Group is committed to donating approximately 300 000 tonnes of mineral fertilisers to developing nations to alleviate the unprecedented global food crisis and prevent crop losses in countries that face the risk of famine,” read the statement.

The initiative also supports efforts to meet UN Sustainable Development Goal #2 — “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”.

Uralchem JSC chief executive officer Mr Dmitry Konyaev said fertiliser is key in ensuring food security on both national and global levels.

“Roughly half of the world’s population relies on food produced with the use of fertilisers. Nigeria, which is the most populated country in Africa, has been facing significant issues with its agricultural output, which has put at risk a large number of people, mostly in rural areas,” said Mr Konyaev.

“As a company aiming to make sure that every person on this planet has access to food, we are grateful for the opportunity to help Nigerian farmers increase crop yields and mitigate food shortages.”

-@nqotshili