On Dec. 10 at noon GMT (7 a.m. EST), the Africa South of the Sahara Food Security Portal (https://ssa.foodsecurityportal.org/regional-sub-portal/sub-saharan-africa) will host a virtual dialogue on fertilizer use in Africa. This event will bring together regional experts to engage with online participants in order to share information, discuss progress and constraints, and brainstorm new ideas to address the problem of low and improper fertilizer use in the region. Discussion questions will include:
- What is the market structure in Africa’s fertilizer market? How much does the global fertilizer market affect Africa (which imports most of its fertilizer)?
- What is the role of policy in Africa’s fertilizer market?
- What opportunities exist to improve Africa’s fertilizer market, and what are some examples of successful interventions?
- What are the constraining factors (infrastructure, production, information, economy, etc.)
The expert panel will include:
Jones Govereh, Agricultural Economist specializing in international development and economic policy. Dr. Govereh has 15 years of professional experience in East and Southern Africa and has conducted research on fertilizer and maize marketing and regional trade. He is currently a private consultant based in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Maria Wanzala, IFDC Senior Scientist-Economics and Regional Director for the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership’s East and Southern Africa Division. Dr. Wanzala is an agricultural economist with over 10 years of experience working on African agricultural policy and market development issues. She specializes in analysis of the functioning of fertilizer markets, the constraints affecting their performance, and the formulation of policies and programs to address these constraints and improve market performance.
Richard Mkandawire, Vice President of the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP). Professor Mkandawire is a socio-economist specializing in rural development. He played a leadership role in the development of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
How to participate:
1.) On the day of the dialogue, click on the following link, or copy and paste into your browser: https://ssa.foodsecurityportal.org/forums/virtual-dialogue-important-topic-fertilizer-use-africa
2.) Click on the “Log in” button under the forum title and enter your name and email address to log in.
3.) Select the topic you would like to comment on; for example: https://ssa.foodsecurityportal.org/content/what-market-structure-africa%E2%80%99s-fertilizer-market-how-much-does-global-fertilizer-market
4.) Write a title for your comment in the “Subject” box.
5.) Above the final box, where it says “CAPTCHA”, there will be a combination of three numbers and letters. Enter these three characters in the final box. Please be aware that the system differentiates between upper and lower case; an example is attached in the file called “CAPTCHA”.
6.) Publish your comment by clicking on “SAVE” at the end of the page.
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