The months of June through August bring with them, in much of the country, heavy rains and chilly weather. For Ethiopian agriculture, the months also herald a fertilizer frenzy, as millions of smallholder farmers scramble to lay their hands on chemical fertilizers. Although these inputs have been in use in Ethiopia for the better part of a century, it is not uncommon to hear farmers complaining about difficulty in accessing fertilizers, as well as their cost.
The import and supply of fertilizer, a solely state-run operation in Ethiopia, is often politicized and access to the chemicals can be a contentious issue. This year, the federal government has reported improved availability.
On July 4, during the parliamentary session when lawmakers voted in favor of a 971.2 billion birr budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) said a whopping 15 million quintals of chemical fertilizers have been imported for the current crop season (lasting from June through August).
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The PM had told lawmakers that 13 million quintals had arrived, while the remaining two million quintals were awaiting transport from ports in Djibouti. The Ministry of Agriculture told The Reporter Magazine a couple of weeks later that the volume had risen to 16.2 million quintals following a more recent purchase.
The need for the bulk import and use of chemical fertilizers is an increasingly crucial imperative in Ethiopia, and it comes at a hefty cost. Reports indicate the government spent one billion US dollars on fertilizer imports for the 2023/24 crop season. It is a significant chunk of the country’s scant foreign currency resources, and the figure stands out even further when compared to statistics such as Ethiopia’s total foreign direct investment (FDI) over the same period, which stood at USD 3.8 billion.
Controversies Surrounding Chemical Fertilizers
Experts in the field of agriculture agree that while chemical fertilizers boost production as a quick fix to feed Ethiopia’s ever growing population, a transition must nevertheless be made to production and use of microbial fertilizers.
Among them is Kefyalew Endale, an assistant professor of economics at Addis Ababa University, who warned about the dangers of over-reliance on chemical fertilizers in a research paper he authored in 2021. In ‘Fertilizer Consumption and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia,’ Kefyalew noted that “chemical fertilizers have come to be crucial for productivity but the side effects in the long term would outweigh the immediate outcomes.”
“Chemical fertilizers are harmful to soil nutrients, cause groundwater pollution and soil degradation,” Kefayalew told the Reporter Magazine.
These harmful effects are often swept under the rug as proponents of chemical fertilizer point to the ever increasing number of mouths to feed and the rapid agricultural production boost offered by the application of synthetic fertilizers.
Still, Kefyalew calls for the introduction and application of technological-assisted, research based biological fertilizers.
“Local farmers can be encouraged to use biofertilizers on their plots through the provision of land-tenure title deeds. Farmers tilling flat lands as against those who toil on slopes really tend to advance the use of biofertilizers, provided they are made to feel they own the land,” he said.
Zerihun Tsegaye (PhD) is the lead executive officer of microbial biodiversity research at the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute. He told The Reporter Magazine that while there is widespread recognition of the need to transition Ethiopia from the employment of chemical fertilizers to microbial-based products, there has, however, been little to show for it on the ground.
“In addition to the unbearably high cost being incurred on imports of chemical fertilizers, those synthetic fertilizers are harming biodiversity,” he said.
The Institute has been engaged since 2017 in research activities in a bid to introduce proven microbial fertilizers to Ethiopian agriculture, with trials for their use on teff and sorghum crops having garnered success.
“There is no system allowing for the application of these research outcomes on the field under agricultural extension programs. This is what is impeding the transition towards the increased employment of microbial biofertilizers. The promotion of biofertilizers is one of the responsibilities entrusted to our organization,” said Zerihun.
He suggested that a clear-cut link be created nationally between research and production, on-field application, and the popularization and commercialization of microbial fertilizers to ensure a smooth and rapid transition to biofertilizer use in Ethiopia.
Lack of a clear national policy and procedures to drive microbial-based fertilizers aside, a domestic company, Thur Biotech, is determined to drive the transition process via the production of suitable bacterial fertilizers that can repel the effects of chemical fertilizers by providing essential nutrients to crops.
The founder of the company, Samson Alemu, recently won an international competition organized in Kigali, Rwanda, under the auspices of Heifer International in collaboration with AYuTe NextGen. His innovation is Thur Combo, a bacterial-based fertilizer formulation that he claims provides cereal crops with all the nutrients they need in one disease resistant and biodegradable package.
“My fertilizer has been proven to produce 20 to 30 percent more yield in cereals than could be achieved via the use of chemical fertilizers,” Samson told the Reporter Magazine.
The AYuTe NextGen 2024 Award was announced in Kigali on June 11, 2024.
“I expect prize money amounting to USD 700,000, which I already proposed. Heifer International already told me they will conduct a need assessment soon before deciding on the amount, which I will use to expand my lab,” said Samson.
Heifer International, an organization working primarily on addressing hunger and poverty issues in a sustainable way, currently operates in 19 countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Thur Combo comes in 125-gram packets containing the bacterial fertilizer, with a reported two billion or more bacterial cells contained in one gram of the product. Thur Biotech’s lab also produces up to 16 liters of a liquid fertilizer product, which it offers in one liter and 500 ml packages.
“We’ve reached 900 smallholder farmers as our customer base and we plan to increase the number to 1,600 next year,” said Samson. He disclosed the company has offered training on the application of the new microbial-based fertilizers to hundreds of smallholding farmers and DAs.
Samson has big ambitions for his product, foreseeing a leap in production to 3,000 tons annually by 2025 and access to other markets in eastern and central Africa. However, the plans are dependent on the pace at which Thur Biotech manages to execute the expansion using the prize money, as well as support from international agencies such as WFP and USAID.
“We are already receiving support from these organizations,” said Samson.
He claims his product is significantly more affordable than expensive chemical fertilizers, with 1,200 birr sufficing to cover a hectare of farmland with Thur Biotech’s microbial fertilizer. A liter of the company’s liquid fertilizer sells for 1,460 birr.
“One liter is enough to cover plants on one hectare,” said Samson.
The price tags are just 10 percent of what a farmer would spend on chemical fertilizers, which can cost up to 15,000 birr to cover one hectare.
These are just rough estimates, however, as farmers who spoke to The Reporter Magazine explained that the amount of fertilizer they apply varies from one area to another according to factors such as topography and the status and type of soil, among other considerations.
“There is a huge gap in Ethiopia in terms of meeting the demand for chemical fertilizers,” said Samson. “Our plan is to fill this gap (64 percent in unmet demand) and then to try and replace in part the use of chemical fertilizers in the country with more healthy, biodegradable, and more efficient and less costly microbial-based fertilizers.”
He says he stumbled on Thur Combo by accident.
“My initial objective was to research and produce a product that would fight soil salinity and acidity,” said Samson. “We were graduating students at the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University when COVID-19 struck. But that came as a blessing in disguise for us because we used the time out of class for redoubled research activity. At one point, I thought I could expand the scope of my research to encompass the function of soil fertility and I came up with an improved bacteria that does just that.”
Samson disclosed that in addition to the main Thur Combo product, his lab also produces bacterial fertilizers tailored to specific demands from customers.
“Orders may come specifically for disease resistant or potassium fertilizers and we deliver according to demand in separate sachets,” he said.
Commercial-scale farms such as Genesis Commercial Farm in Bishoftu, as well as Qelo, Seedco, and Horti farms located in the Oromia region and Soroka Dansha Soybean and Cotton Farms in the Amhara region are among Thur Biotech’s customers, according to Samson.
The Reporter Magazine verified that Thur Biotech has been given “access” certification from the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute for its bacteria-based fertilizers.
Still, Samson observes the lack of a route to patent microbial products in Ethiopia stands as a barrier to success.
“How can we go global with our vital innovations and launch the process to getting international patenting while we don’t have local patent rights first?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia seems set to continue spending big on chemical fertilizers. According to available data, the country spent USD 424.02 million on fertilizer imports in 2015. The figure has more than doubled, sitting at an estimated USD one billion today.
Global Chemical Fertilizer Consumption
Chemical fertilizers are primarily composed of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, and although these are fairly common elements, only a handful of countries account for the majority of global fertilizer production.
Morocco, Russia, China, and the US dominate the global fertilizer export market. In 2021, Morocco accounted for 23 percent of close to 23 million metric tonnes in global phosphatic fertilizer exports, with China trailing close behind with 19 percent, while Russia held 14 percent and the US accounting for seven percent. The rest of the world made up 37 percent of the total.
Global export volumes dwindled to 18.8 million metric tonnes in 2022, but the status quo remained largely the same, except that Russia overtook China in terms of market share. Export volumes swung back up to 19.2 million metric tonnes in 2023 and Morocco and Russia accounted for a combined 38 percent of the total.
The figures for global nitrogenous fertilizer exports are slightly different, but Russia is still a major player here too. It accounted for 16 percent of 44.9 million metric tonnes of global exports in 2021, while China held 13 percent, Qatar six percent, and Saudi Arabia six percent. By 2023, Russia accounted for 12 percent of 43.4 million metric tonnes of global exports, with China taking 13 percent.
Canada is by far the largest exporter of potassic fertilizers, accounting for 42 percent of 32.8 million tonnes in 2023. Here too, Russia is a leader with 20 percent of market share.
The stats reveal the extent to which the production of chemical fertilizers is concentrated in the hands of a few countries, leaving the vast majority as buyers with growing populations to feed, particularly in the Global South. With the exception of Egypt and Morocco in Africa, countries are more and more dependent on increasingly expensive chemical fertilizers.
In addition to the unsustainable dependence and cost, security threats such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, the violence in Gaza, and the Houthi insurgency threatening to block the marine cargo transport artery of the Red Sea, shed light on just how risky continued reliance on chemical fertilizer imports can be.
Experts, however, see the environmental costs of using chemical fertilizers as the primary imperative to make the switch to biofertilizers. The costs include degrading soil fertility, polluting ground water and harming biodiversity.
