MINBOS RESOURCES Limited has announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Fertilizer Development Centre (IDFC), which will work to develop and grow the Small Holder Farmer market in Angola. The IFDC is an international non-for-profit organisation, dedicated to scientific innovations that increase global food production, protect the environment and empower Small Holder Farmers. The organisation strives to improve the lives and productivity of Small Holder Farmers, and does so through running country-scale agricultural projects across Africa. These projects introduce farmers to improved agricultural practises, fertilizer technologies and facilitation of market access. As crop yields grow in Sub-Saharan Africa, so too does the demand for key ingredients of food production such as fertilizer. Minbos has worked in partnership with the IFDC for several years, most notably to help develop the company’s Cabinda Phosphate Product, which included developing market demand in one of the most prospective fertiliser regions globally. Minbos is building a nutrient supply and distribution business that stimulates food security in Angola and the broader Congo Basin. This project has the potential to impact the whole country by boosting fertilizer production and food security.
KORE POTASH, the potash development company with 97%-ownership of the Kola and DX Potash Projects in the Sintoukola Basin, located within the Republic of Congo, advises that its local subsidiary has received correspondence from the country‘s Minister of Mines expressing disappointment at the speed of progress on the development of the projects and questioning compliance with the Company’s obligations to the Government. In response to the correspondence, the company has assured the Minister of Mines of the progress being made at its Dougou Extention (DX) and Kola projects. “Kore continues to communicate constructively and openly with the Minister of Mines to ensure the parties remain fully engaged as Kore progresses the development of its projects,” the company assured shareholders in a recent update. Kore earlier in December reported that the definitive feasibility study for Phase 1 of the DX project remained on track to be completed in May 2021.
CF FERTILIZERS has reported that a range of updates to its nitrogen management services is being introduced for 2021 to help growers use fertilizers as effectively as possible in light of new production and environmental challenges. Improvements will include a new nationwide network of testers to make sampling simpler, the introduction of a ‘protein prediction’ test for milling wheat producers and greater online support for growers. “Accurate and timely analysis of soil N content [soil nitrogen] is becoming an increasingly important element of on-farm risk management planning as climatologists agree growers can expect more variable growing conditions in the future,” explained the company’s Ross Leadbeater. CF Fertilizers believe simple assays of soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) are insufficient to provide the accuracy needed for future fertilizer planning, so total soil nitrogen supply (SNS) will be the foundation of an updated N-Min service moving forward, Leadbeater said. “Without taking into account this extra soil N, growers risk applying too much fertilizer and in the modern world of responsible crop production and fertilizer use this is simply unacceptable.” Improvement to the N-Min service for 2021 will come from a new nationwide network of samplers to make the process simpler. There will also be a ‘protein prediction’ test for milling wheat producers available from Hill Court Farm Research, Leadbeater explains.
