African Farmers Must Diversify and Reduce Import Dependence Amid Fertilizer Price Shocks

Africa's dependence on imported fertilizers has left farmers vulnerable to global price shocks. The recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed up fertilizer prices in Africa, with urea prices doubling to over $850 a tonne by April. Although prices have since eased, the World Bank expects fertiliser prices to average more than 30% higher across 2026.

The crisis has exposed the limitations of government subsidies, which often protect farmers without addressing the underlying vulnerabilities in their farming systems. Instead of providing subsidies that rise with import prices, governments could spend the same money on making farms less vulnerable in the first place.

Reducing dependence on imports is crucial. Healthy soil holds nutrients where roots can reach them, while precision application raises the share of nitrogen crops absorb. Crop choice matters too: legumes fix nitrogen from the air and leave it for the crop that follows. In Ethiopia, this approach has already shown promising results.

African supply capacity needs to be built up as well. Nigeria's Dangote refinery has been exporting fuel and urea to several neighboring countries, while Morocco supplies more than half of Africa's phosphate. Regional production, blending, and trade can turn one supply route into several.