This exchange, which took place in the evening of 5 November 2020, focused on the commitment that the ECOWAS Commission has made to facilitate the development of a winning partnership between WAFA and the ECOWAS Investment Bank (EBID) for the funding of private sector fertilizer projects in West Africa.

According to Sékou Sangaré, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Respources, of the ECOWAS Commission, the “processing of this dossier is well advanced at EBID. As a matter of fact, the mandate between WAFA and the bank has already been signed. The Bank’s Board of Directors has also given go-ahead for the establishment of a line of credit of nearly $520 million”. This amount, he said should help finance, among others, fertilizer import projects, the purchase of trucks and other equipment for logistics and transport, and the construction of storage facilities.

Considering the high interest aroused by this initiative among partners, such as Germany and the Arab Republics, Commissioner Sangaré encouraged WAFA members in Mali to speed up the preparation and submission of relevant and bankable projects to EBID for financing. He once again reiterated the readiness of the ECOWAS Commission to support any initiative aimed at the development of the private fertilizer sector particularly, and that of other development sectors in general.

WAFA was born from the will of the fertilizer sector players in the region to join forces to meet the fertilizers challenges. It dates from December 2015, but the desire to unite goes back to long ago. It aims to promote access to availability, affordability, timing and efficient use of quality and appropriate fertilizers among the farming population of West Africa.