OCP, Keyna’s KNTC Team Up to Improve Farmers’ Access to Fertilizers

 Morocco’s leading phosphate company OCP has teamed up with the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) to improve farmers’ access to fertilizer at affordable prices.

The KNTC announced its cooperation with OCP’s office in Kenya to ensure that farmers can get fertilizer at the right time.

Under the partnership, farmers will be able to purchase fertilizer across the country at about $23 for a 50 kilogram sack, “compared to the previous fraudulent prices” of about $28 to $32 per sack, Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) noted.

KNTC managing director Timothy Mirugi said the partnership with OCP Kenya will help small farmers to access fertomozers at good prices, the Daily Nation reported.

Mirugi explained the decision is a “laudable effort. As we all know, with sufficient fertilizer, productivity will be good.”

“Currently, we have supplied more than 60,000 bags of fertiliser for planting to farmers in the breadbasket counties of Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Nandi and Trans Nzoia among others whose planting season commenced early, between March and April,” Mirugi explained.

A state institution in Kenya, KNTC seeks to promote products and trade in the country through partnerships with stakeholders.

The institution also seeks to ensure balance between demand and supply through product availability, Daily Nation reported on May 9.

OCP is a 95% Moroccan state-owned business and is the world’s largest phosphate exporter, controlling 75% of the world’s reserves.

The firm has several other partnerships with international groups, especially with African institutions, to improve agriculture productivity on the continent.

In February 2019, Morocco approved the creation of an OCP subsidiary in Ethiopia to boost the East African country’s agricultural productivity. Firms like OCP Africa have established Morocco as a key player on the African scene.