Fertilizers: National Associations Conclude Talks in Abidjan to Strengthen the Sector in West Africa
Fertilizers: National Associations Gather in Abidjan for a Key Meeting on Access and Efficiency
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire – October 2024
Under the initiative of the West African Fertilizer Association (WAFA), representatives from national fertilizer associations and suppliers across West Africa met in Abidjan for a three-day workshop. This gathering brought together participants from countries with established associations and others without formal structures to focus on experience-sharing and enhancing local and regional dynamics around fertilizer accessibility.
The workshop aimed to strengthen the role of fertilizer suppliers' associations, equipping them to play a decisive role in agricultural policy discussions and adapting regional frameworks to local contexts. Through targeted actions, the workshop addressed obstacles such as funding challenges, structural limitations, and fragmentation among private and public stakeholders.
Shared Challenges and Collective Solutions
Each country shared its specific challenges and proposed strategies to address them, revealing common themes: financial difficulties, structural limitations, and occasionally tensions between private and public sectors. These discussions helped lay the groundwork for reinforced collaboration within WAFA to support national efforts and foster greater integration.
To ensure this workshop goes beyond being “just another meeting,” an action plan will be established, integrating solutions proposed by participants. The goal is to convert these discussions into concrete actions that will improve agricultural productivity in West Africa.
Support from Partners for Sector Sustainability
WAFA also called on all industry stakeholders to commit to using this workshop as a foundation for lasting change, ensuring tangible benefits for each actor and agricultural producers across the region. The workshop was made possible through financial support from the Feed the Future EnGRAIS project funded by USAID. Launched in 2018 as a continuation of the WAFP program, EnGRAIS provides WAFA with the essential technical and financial support to advance its mission.
In this participatory effort towards a hunger-free world, the West African Fertilizer Association remains committed to uniting private sector initiatives around sustainable development and food self-sufficiency across West Africa.