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OCP Africa, a subsidiary of Morocco’s fertilizer giant OCP Group, on Wednesday, signed two Memoranda of Understanding with Togo’s government to boost cooperation in the mining and agricultural sectors.
OCP Africa and Togo’s government signed the agreements on the sidelines of the High-Level Round Table on Fertilizers and Soil Health. Faure Gnassingbe, President of the Republic of Togo, and CEO of OCP Group Mostafa Terrab, Chairman attended the signing ceremony along with Ousmane Diagana, vice-president of the World Bank for West and Central Africa.
The two agreements aim to strengthen cooperation with Togo in the agricultural and mining sectors in order to promote the production of phosphate fertilizers from carbonated phosphate and to improve the competitiveness of agricultural value chains.
The agreement also aims to improve the competitiveness of Togo’s agricultural value chains, a statement from OCP Africa said.
OCP Africa signed its first agreement with the Togolese Ministry of Agriculture, with the aim to support over 600,000 farmers. As part of the agreement, the two partners agreed to set up an agricultural service center offering mechanization services, irrigation, maintenance, supply of agricultural inputs as well as training and technical support.
“This MoU will also make it possible to update the fertility map of the country in order to cover all the cultivable land, while developing fertilizer formulas adapted to the needs of the soils and local crops,” according to OCP Africa.
The second agreement between OCP Africa and the Ministry of Energy seeks to allow the fertilizer giant to contribute to the strengthening of local capacities through providing its expertise and technical support for the development and local valorization of phosphates from the mine.
“This agreement attests to the common ambition of both parties to diversify Togo’s agricultural industry and stimulate its economic growth,” OCP Africa said, stressing that the MoU will not only work to increase Togo’s self-sufficiency in this area but also contribute to the country’s economy.
OCP Africa and Togo agreements signing ceremony
Commenting on the signing, Managing Director of OCP Africa Mohamed Anouar Jamali expressed satisfaction with the partnership with the Togolese government.
Emphasizing the World Bank’s support for the MoUs, Jamali stressed OCP’s renewed commitment to support Togo’s desire to develop “carbonated phosphate in a modern and competitive way.”
Jamali highlighted the importance of the partnership, which also seeks to create “greater added value locally and , on the other hand, the implementation of the roadmap 2020-2025, which aims to position agriculture as a priority engine of growth for production, improved incomes and job creation.”
The agreements are in line with OCP’s commitment toward Africa. The commitment reflects the group’s vision seeking to contribute to the continent’s agriculture.