fertilizer

By Omar M. ElmiWednesday April 1, 2026 A war far from Ethiopia’s borders is already sending tremors through the country’s economy. The fighting in the Middle East is inflicting heavy human and material losses, but its reach is extending well beyond the battlefield, with disruptions that could hit trade, fuel supplies and food production in countries thousands of kilometers away. Ethiopia, landlocked and home to more than 120 million people, sits squarely in that danger zone. The risk is rooted in a basic structural…

Ethiopia Bets on Homegrown Fertilizer as Dangote Signs $2.5 Billion Deal in Somali Region For a country where seven in ten people make a living from the land, the announcement landed with the weight of a good rain. Ethiopia will partner with Nigeria’s Dangote Group to build one of the world’s largest urea fertilizer complexes in Gode, in the Somali Regional State—an arid corner better known to many Ethiopians as a frontier than a factory town. The deal, framed as a bid for “food sovereignty,” is also a test of whether East…

In the hubbub of Mogadishu, news has just dropped that Somalia’s cabinet decided to lift the ban on chemical fertilizers. This move aims to cranking up efficiency in agriculture, tackling food shortages, and minimizing how climate change has been throwing curveballs at farming in the region. Announced with a bit of fanfare on Thursday, this policy is a linchpin in the government's plan to breathe new life into the agriculture sector. This sector, by the way, is the bread and butter for over 70% of the people, plus it makes…

For six months, the price of fertilizer has risen. As a result, some farmers are being forced to reduce their use on the African continent. A trend that will not be without consequences. West African farmers are the big losers in the fertilizer market this year. Prices have reached their peak. And some operators are in…