By Henok Reta

While kicking off the first international potassium symposium on the role of potassium in cropping systems of sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia looks to be ready to start using the compound as a chemical fertilizer on teff farms for the first time.

In an occasion scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa between September 4 and 5, organized jointly by the International Potash Institute (IPI) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) is the first of its kind in Africa since 1973.

IPI has been inactive for decades in Africa following the first potash symposium it held in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, and the upcoming event aims at unlocking the potash potentials of sub-Saharan African countries, according to the organizers. "We have long been forced not to use potassium as a fertilizer but DAP and UREA; and this is the time to turn our face to it," Tekalign Mamo (Prof.), minister's advisor and state minister of agriculture, said. He also noted that the ministry has finalized its studies in 275 woredas (districts) to identify the types of soils suitable for potassium fertilizer.

Agriculture in Ethiopia claims in excess of 15 percent of the total national budget. And, according to Tesfaye Mengiste, representative of the minister, the country is yet to utilize its potash resources. "In the future, we will export potash products to the international market, however, we should also make potassium one of the major fertilizers in farms in Ethiopia," he said. IPI advocates that potash has been a widely applied fertilizer in Eastern and Southern Asian to increase productivity by up to 30 percent. "Potash is six times cheaper than nitrogen and Israeli farmers appear to be the most benefited from it," Hillel Magen, director of IPI said on occasion. He further advises Ethiopia to apply more potassium on its most important cereal crop--teff. "We have seen a significant increase in maize, rice and wheat production across the globe. And this is the time for teff" he suggests.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ATA Khalid Bomba said that investing in fertilizer helps to realize the key mandate of the agency, which is achieving food security, since fertilizers improve productivity by 50 percent. The ministry of mine has already identified the potential of potash mining in the Danakil (Dallol) Depression where the Canadian firm Allana Potash is set to start production of potash by 2015.

According to the ministry, Yara International is also on its way to finalize case studies to invest in the large scale potash mining project in the country, apart from the 3.2 billion tons under Allana's concession. Although IPI is yet to fully recognize the quality and deposit of Ethiopia's Potash, the ministry has already conducted studies revealing the high-grade, shallow and world-class quality of potash in the Danakil Depression.