Ethiopia's First Ever Fertilizer Blending Plant Inaugurated

Tullo Bollo, Oromia, Ethiopia – On June 1, 2014, Ethiopia’s first ever fertilizer blending factory opened it’s doors thanks to the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), with support from Oromia Bureau of Agriculture, the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which contributed $1.2 million USD toward establishing the factory. In more than 40,000 demonstrations of the new fertilizer, yields increased by as much as 100%. Previously, Ethiopian smallholder farmers were limited to DAP and Urea, fertilizers that only delivered nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients. Farmers and Farmer Cooperative Unions (FCUs) have already requested that the government make the new blended fertilizers more available. “Improved inputs, such as fertilizer and seeds, are a proven factor in agricultural productivity” said Dennis Weller, USAID Ethiopia Mission Director. Combined with other improvements to inputs and management practices, the blended fertilizers are a great boost to Ethiopian farmers and the communities they feed.