Ethiopia has entered into a partnership with Nigeria’s Dangote Group to establish a $2.5 billion fertiliser plant, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced Thursday on X.
The facility, to be built in Gode, southeastern Ethiopia, will have an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons.
The project is part of billionaire Aliko Dangote’s broader push to reduce Africa’s heavy reliance on imported fertiliser and improve self-sufficiency in agricultural inputs.
The agreement was signed between state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) and Dangote Group. Under the deal, Dangote will hold a 60% stake, while EIH retains a 40% stake.
In a statement posted on X, Dangote described the investment as reflecting a “shared vision to industrialise Africa and achieve food security across the continent.”
Africa’s import reliance threatens food security
Africa imports more than 6 million metric tons of fertiliser each year, a costly reliance that undermines agricultural productivity and leaves farmers vulnerable to global supply shocks.
A trade report by Afreximbank shows that in 2021, the continent’s fertiliser exports were valued at $8.9 billion, more than twice its import bill of $3.7 billion.
This surplus was driven primarily by North African producers, with Morocco and Egypt alone accounting for $6.23 billion, or more than 70% of total exports, underscoring the region’s central role in global supply chains.
That same year, 15 African countries were net exporters of fertiliser, pointing to the continent’s potential to expand intra-African trade. Still, major agricultural markets, such as Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, remained heavily dependent on imports.
The project is part of billionaire Aliko Dangote’s broader push to reduce Africa’s heavy reliance on imported fertiliser and improve self-sufficiency in agricultural inputs.
The agreement was signed between state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) and Dangote Group. Under the deal, Dangote will hold a 60% stake, while EIH retains a 40% stake.
In a statement posted on X, Dangote described the investment as reflecting a “shared vision to industrialise Africa and achieve food security across the continent.”
Africa’s import reliance threatens food security
Africa imports more than 6 million metric tons of fertiliser each year, a costly reliance that undermines agricultural productivity and leaves farmers vulnerable to global supply shocks.
A trade report by Afreximbank shows that in 2021, the continent’s fertiliser exports were valued at $8.9 billion, more than twice its import bill of $3.7 billion.
This surplus was driven primarily by North African producers, with Morocco and Egypt alone accounting for $6.23 billion, or more than 70% of total exports, underscoring the region’s central role in global supply chains.
That same year, 15 African countries were net exporters of fertiliser, pointing to the continent’s potential to expand intra-African trade. Still, major agricultural markets, such as Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, remained heavily dependent on imports.