In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and our AfricaFertilizer.org initiative have launched a weekly update on fertilizer trade information. The East and Southern Africa COVID-19 Fertilizer Watch will be available by subscription, starting Thursday, April 23. This one-page document will specifically track the impact of government-sanctioned COVID-19 interventions on the delivery and use of fertilizers in African countries and, in doing so, will allow public and private sectors to monitor agricultural production and food security in the region.
Please click here to download the one-page Watch, the full Country Status report in English, and subscribe for updates.
Through this weekly Fertilizer Watch, and for the coming months, IFDC seeks to monitor that fertilizers are moving freely across the region – from ports and plants to farms – and that sufficient fertilizers are reaching farmers in time for planting to ensure that productivity and food security needs are met. We expect that, as the agricultural season evolves, other related indicators and data will need to be tracked, and we will update the Watch accordingly.
IFDC has already launched the COVID-19 Fertilizer Watch in West Africa and intends to launch an Africa-wide COVID-19 Fertilizer Watch soon. The West Africa Watch has been greatly appreciated by private sector businesses all along the value chain, as well as public sector and development partners responsible for policy and food security interventions, including Government Ministries, Regional Economic Communities, International Fertilizer Association (IFA), and the African Union, as a valuable tool to analyze data and monitor actions to help in decision making related to fertilizer availability and use.
The AFO team would like to thank the private and public sector partners who have provided input into the Watch. We acknowledge the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for support through the USAID-funded Bureau of Resilience and Food Security (RFS) Feed the Future project on Soil Fertility Technology Adoption, Policy Reform, and Knowledge Management (RFS-SFT) implemented by IFDC.
To receive the Watch directly, please fill in your details here to sign up.
