Two African Companies Dedicate US $6 Million For Fertilizer

Date:05-27-2009

Two local firms in Zimbabwe — Platinum Agriculture Group, a holding company consisting of Platinum Seed, Platinum Chemicals, Platinum Timber, Platinum Engineering, Platinum Farms, and Obital Explorations, and Konfluens, a private equity consortium — have secured 10,000 tonnes of fertilizer from South Africa in a bid to bridge the gap between supply and demand on the local market, reports The Sunday Mail. The fertilizer was purchased after the two companies sourced US $6 million in lines of credit from local and regional markets. Platinum Agriculture Group and Konfluens have so far brought into the country 1,500 tonnes of compound D, 1,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, 500 tonnes of calcium ammonium nitrate, and 150,000 litres of assorted pesticides.

Platinum Group Managing Director Dakarai Mapuranga said there is need for private sector players to come on board and participate in the support of new farmers and the agriculture sector. "The Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP) will never be a reality if the agriculture sector does not kick off. Too much effort has been directed at securing lines of credit for the manufacturing sector and mining sector at the expense of the agriculture sector," he said. "About 60% to 70% of raw materials used in the manufacturing sector comes from agriculture. So talking about upping capacity utilization when the sector that is the source of the raw materials is not performing is a waste of time."

Added Mapuranga: "We have received a lot of support from the fertilizer industry in South Africa, and China and India have been very helpful in assisting us with lines of credit for securing pesticides."