Dmitry Konyaev, the CEO of Uralchem JSC, took part in the Russia-Africa panel discussion of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The discussion took the form of a business dialogue involving leading Russian and African representatives of state authorities and organisations directly involved in developing cooperation between Russia and African countries.
The discussion focused on further evolution of the parties’ collaboration in agriculture and food safety. On average, Africa applies 25.6 kilograms of active fertiliser ingredients per hectare annually, which is almost five times below the global average. The continent’s current output of cereal crops stands at 180 million tonnes per year, although the estimated capacity is 520 million tonnes of cereals — or 20% of global production. A similar disparity exists with other crops.
Dmitry Konyaev, CEO of Uralchem JSC:
The African fertiliser market needs to develop as the continent’s demand for agricultural products continues its steep rise in response to overall population growth and a steady increase in the share of middle-class households. Africa depends on imports of a whole range of commodities and spends around 80 billion dollars each year to purchase food and raw materials. Research shows that Sub-Saharan Africa’s demand for agricultural production will be equivalent to 167 billion dollars by 2025. The countries of this region will only be able to meet this kind of demand with domestic production if they increase application of fertilisers. If they manage to bring the application rate even to 130 kilograms per hectare, the agricultural output of the African continent might double in several years.
Uralchem welcomes long-term cooperation with African countries, and we are ready to help them build and maintain a strong agricultural sector. One of possible solutions is to provide local farmers with access to the latest agricultural technologies. Already today we consult and train our African consumers, and carry out field tests to select and validate the best products and solutions jointly with local farmers and research institutions. We are also willing to arrange training and internship for African specialists in Russia.
