The ECOWAS member states have expressed worries over the worsening effects of food and nutritional situation due to the rising cost of fertilizer that has resulted in the shortfall of grains in the sub-region.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment, and Water Resources, Sekou Sangare made the expression during his presentation at the ongoing 2022 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
He said the negative effect of the Russia and Ukraine conflict has extremely heightened the price of food as they are the major suppliers of fertilizers, wheat, maize, and edible oil, hence urging for stringent action to deal with nutritional threats in the region.
Statistics show that in 2020/2021 there is an increase in the price of mineral fertilizers, as the price of natural gas tripled from USD 300 tonne to more than $900 tonne since the wake of the Russia and Ukraine crises.
While potash and phosphate fertilizers and NPK prices exceed USD 850/tonne.
The expert opined that with the hike in prices subsidizing fertilizers is crucial especially as their consumption has doubled in regions that support agricultural production.
According to Sekou, the low availability of fertilizer on the markets has brought severe limits to access to fertilizers among farmers.
Adding that such an instance could lead to a drop of 15-20 million tones of grains production in the region.
He, therefore, called for cogent policies to address the low local food production, scarcity of food, and availability of fertilizers to enhance farming in the ECOWAS state.
“The need for subsidies for fertilizers which have more than doubled at a constant level of fertilizer consumption for all our member states which support their agriculture.
A deficit to date of more than 2 million tones of fertilizer for the current crop year, most of which is intended for food crops, including horticulture and flood recession crops.
The low availability of fertilizer on the markets and the price of a bag of 50kg of fertilizer which has tripled from an average of 14,000 FCFA in 2020 to more than 30,000 FCFA per unit, severely limits the access of farmers to fertilizers working on lands whose fertility has declined significantly before and with the consequences of a predictable drop of 15-20 million tones of cereals equivalent if nothing is done.”
Meanwhile, in their contributions, members of the parliament decry the rate at which farmers in the region have been neglected over access to seeds and fertilizers despite having the largest company that exports 80% of these products to Latin America, thus calling on ECOWAS to mainstream them so as to support agricultural farmers in the region.
Also speaking, the commissioner for agriculture, Sekou Sangare call on member states to urgently mobilize financial resources in order to boost the availability of food aimed at curbing food insecurity projected in June-august 2022.
Adding that there is a need to maintain a constant dialogue with partners who are committed to providing countries with financial assistance so as to achieve the desired west African future.
“Urgently mobilize internal financial resources to assist people affected by the crises within the framework of social protection net projects; cash transfer, food for work, etc.
Maintain a constant dialogue with the partners who made commitments (promise of 2.7 billion Euros) during the meeting of April 06, 2022, at the initiative of the Club du Sahel et de I’Afrique West (SWAC/OECD), the European Union (EU) and the Global Network Against Food Crises(GN), on the theme “Food and Nutrition crises in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions: act now and better mobilize in the future in West Africa.” Increase the physical capacities of food security shortage mechanism (local, national, and regional).”
According to the June 13, 2006 declaration by the heads of state and government of the African Union, ECOWAS member states are expected to see fertilizer as a borderless product devoid of demurrage, hence making it a free movement of agricultural inputs to facilitate farming in the region.
