Uralkali, one of the leading global producers of potash, has joined the ‚Action Africa: Thriving Farms, Thriving Future‘ initiative founded by Norwegian fertilizer producer Yara. Action Africa, Inc. is organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides services in the vital areas of health, education, micro-enterprise development, and human rights for African children and families in the Washington, D.C. area and rural villages of sub-Saharan Africa. The ‚Action Africa: Thriving Farms, Thriving Future‘ initiative, which is supported by the United Nations, Norway’s government and several African institutions, aims to provide 40,000t of fertilizers and to help feed more than 1 million people in southern and eastern Africa for a year.
Backed by the UN World Food Programme and supported by several African industry associations and organisations, the Yara-launched initiative intends to provide local agricultural producers with mineral fertilizers and relevant digital solutions, and to offer information and agrochemical support to ensure food security amidst the global economic crisis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Uralkali has announced it plans to make a significant contribution towards improving the efficiency of farms in African countries, ensuring that demand for their products is met to the maximum potential and increasing their yield, in addition to strengthening the health and immunity of the local population through better nutrition and guaranteeing access for the most vulnerable population groups in Africa.
Uralkali CEO, Dmitry Osipov, said that “Ensuring food security in Africa is one of the most pressing and urgent issues we are facing in the context of the current economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.” Yara, which has committed $25 million to the project, said another key aim of its initiative is to generate support for 250,000 smallholder farmers and thus help feed 1 million people across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique for one year, through an expected tripling of maize production. Yara also hopes that the initiative becomes a catalyst for other private-sector players to join a co-ordinated effort to improve farm productivity, meet local food demand, grow farmer incomes and improve population health through better nutrition.
