IFDC will conclude AfricaFertilizer on December 31, 2025, while ensuring its lasting impact through a stakeholder-led process to chart a strong path forward for the platform’s next iteration. IFDC and the Africa Fertilizer Industry Development Association (AFIDA) are convening a multi-stakeholder meeting of public and private partners with interests in the African fertilizer sector in the coming weeks to shape the legal status, scope, and governance of the new AfricaFertilizer, taking different initiatives into account. The platform will continue to serve as a comprehensive public domain resource, delivering transparent fertilizer data, market analysis, and tailored information for the entire African fertilizer sector and prevents any form of commercial capture, membership paywall, or exclusive access arrangement.
Established following the 2006 African Union Fertilizer Summit, AfricaFertilizer (www.AfricaFertilizer.org) was created as an initiative of IFDC, IFA, and AFAP to serve as a source of fertilizer data and information, supporting increased market transparency and informed decision-making for a more prosperous agricultural sector. The public domain continental platform would grow to serve all fertilizer sector stakeholders, including public sector actors such as the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, and national and local governments; the donor community; research and policy institutions; institutional investors such as the African Development Bank and the World Bank; and private sector entities. AfricaFertilizer has significantly expanded its coverage over the years, growing from a small group of countries at its launch in 2009 to tracking fertilizer data and market analysis for 18 sub-Saharan African countries by 2024.
The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP, Kampala 2025) and the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit (AFSH, Nairobi 2024) reaffirm the critical need for a continental public domain platform like AfricaFertilizer to deliver transparent fertilizer market data at national, regional, and continental scales. Such a platform is essential for providing the insights that public and private stakeholders require to strengthen the fertilizer sector and advance food security and prosperity across the continent.
AfricaFertilizer has been nearly entirely donor funded, and IFDC thanks the Gates Foundation, IFA, and USAID for their generous support. However, donor priorities are shifting, and the resources required to maintain and grow a continental footprint exceed IFDC’s capacity and resources. Therefore, IFDC has decided to conclude the AfricaFertilizer platform on December 31, 2025.
To guide a transparent, inclusive, and efficient transition to AfricaFertilizer’s next iteration, IFDC, AFIDA, and partners will convene a multi-stakeholder meeting with public and private entities with interests in the African fertilizer sector to define the platform’s future legal setup, scope, and governance. No final decision has yet been made regarding which institution will host the platform. Until a formal transition plan is agreed upon, IFDC is and will continue to be the custodian of all information and data. The upcoming meeting will ensure that AfricaFertilizer will meet stakeholder needs as a sustainable business model, while preserving its legacy, mission, and vision—and to expand its reach as the leading public domain source for fertilizer data, market analysis, and information across African markets. Stakeholders and partners will be informed separately with details about the upcoming closure and transition of AfricaFertilizer, and details of data protection and transfer.
Through this coordinated multi-stakeholder effort, and subject to joint funding mechanisms, AfricaFertilizer has the ambition to continue to empower stakeholders across the public and private sectors with the insights needed for informed decision-making and more efficient fertilizer value chains—remaining firmly aligned with the initiative’s original objectives.
