The first batch of the cheaper fertilizer promised by President William Ruto will start jetting into the country from next week.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday, former Moroccan ambassador to Kenya El Mokhtar Ghambou, said the two governments had signed a deal that would allow Morocco to bring in the commodity in the country.
“From next week, fertilizer will start arriving in Kenya in batches to meet the half-price promised by President Ruto,” Ghambou said.
Morocco is one of the main producers of fertiliser on the continent, which the President had promised to bring in, to retail at Sh3,500 from the current Sh6500.
The country has distinct advantage in the production of phosphorus fertilizers. It possesses over 70 per cent of the world’s phosphate rock reserves, from which the phosphorus used in fertilizers is derived.
All food crops require the element phosphorus to grow. Unlike other finite resources, such as fossil fuels, there is no alternative to phosphorus.
A recent global publication noted that being a top four fertilizer producer, makes Morocco a gatekeeper of global food supply chains. This is because the war between Russia and Ukraine has led to sanctions on exportation of fertilizer to certain regions.
China, on the other hand, has slowed down on its exportation of the product leaving the burden to Morocco and Canada.
In 2021, the global phosphorus fertilizer market amounted to about $59 billion. In Morocco, the sector’s 2020 revenues amounted to $5.94 billion.
Office Chérifien des Phosphates, the producer owned by the Moroccan state is the country’s largest employer, providing jobs for 21,000 people.
Morocco plans to produce an additional 8.2 million tonnes of phosphorus fertilizer by 2026. Currently production is at about 12 million tonnes.
The state company recently announced that it would increase its fertilizer production for the year by 10 per cent. This would put an additional 1.2 million tonnes on the global market by the end of the year. This will significantly help markets.
Morocco started to mine phosphorous in 1921. During the 1980s and 1990s it began to produce its own fertilizer. OCP built the world’s largest fertilizer production hub in Jorf Lasfar on Morocco’s Atlantic coast.
Kenya has been importing fertilizer mainly from Saudi Arabia and Russia, due to the recognition and support of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)
However, President Ruto three days ago tweeted that Kenya had rescinded its recognition of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic before quickly deleting the post.
Without any explanation, in a different tweet, the head of state affirmed that Kenya supported the UN framework as the exclusive mechanism to finding a lasting solution of the dispute over Western Sahara.
He also added that, “The government is accelerating relations with Kingdom of Morocco in areas of trade, agriculture, health, tourism, energy among others, for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
In spite of the deleted message, Morocco reinforced the announcement, publishing a lengthy statement that also indicated that Kenya would be opening a resident embassy in Rabat.
Ghambou told journalists that Morocco had started regional alliances with individual counties. So far, Kisumu, Mombasa, Baringo and Siaya counties have programmes running in partnership with different regions in Morocco.
“Kisumu for instance is in partnership with Rabat. Morocco is giving opportunities including scholarships to the county,” he said.