OCP Africa to transform Ghana’s agric sector

By Edmund Mingle
OCP Africa, a subsidiary of OCP Group, a leading global producer of fertiliser, has declared its plans to transform the agriculture industry in Ghana by providing custom-made fertilisers and agriculture services.

The company plans to deplore its resources, including its products and services, logistics and financial solutions to support farmers in enhancing their operations to achieve high yield and also promote agri businesses.

It also plans to partner existing local agro firms to initiate and implement interventions that would help to boost agriculture production in the country.

Being a priority among its plans, OCP, the largest Moroccan agribusiness firm aims at building a fertiliser plant in Ghana, with the objective of making its fertiliser and farm inputs more readily available to farmers in Ghana.

Mr Samuel Oduro-Asare, Country Manager of OCP Africa, in an interview, on the operations of the company in Ghana, noted that the firm would soon launch its farm development models to support crop farmers across the country.

He said the expertise of the OCP Group, gained over nearly a century to become a world leader in phosphate and its derivative products, would be deployed in Ghana.

“We have wide range of adapted fertiliser products to enrich the soil, increase crop yield and feed the world economically and sustainably,” he said.

He explained that because of the diverse nature of soils, farmers should have fertilisers that match their soil.

“The right fertiliser, in the right place, at the right time, in sufficient quantity is the key to our agriculture development,” he said.

In addition, he said the company would train and deploy to farm areas to offer quality agriculture extension services that would help to build the capacity of farmers.

“By working every type of soil with the right techniques and the right fertilisers, we can raise Africa to the forefront of world agriculture, promoting sustainable and responsible farming,” he stressed.

Also, regional and district offices would be set up, he said, indicating that through those  local units, the fertilisers would be made available, affordable and adapted to the specific characteristics of soils in respective farm areas.

“Enhancing the capacity of the farmer is our focus,” he said, adding that the company intends not to compete with existing fertiliser and agro firms, but partner them to redevelop agriculture production in the country.

OCP Africa was set up by the OCP Group, the world’s leading producer phosphate and its derivative products, with the aim prioritising its support to revamp Africa’s agriculture industry for the continent to achieve food sufficiency.

On February 1, 2016, the first OCP fertiliser factory for Africa was inaugurated by Morocco’s leader, King Mohammed VI, in Jorf Lasfar in Morocco, representing a 530 million dollar investment.

That unit is the first of a series of production facilities that will be built in several African countries, including Ghana to support major consumer markets.