Anass KHANCHOUFI ‘Our Goal: To Make Rwanda a Regional Innovation Hub for Sustainable Agriculture’

Interview by Dounia Ben Mohamed in Kigali In 2023, Rwanda inaugurated a fertilizer blending plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, thanks to a partnership between OCP Africa and the Rwandan government. A project, initiated following the state visit of King Mohammed VI in 2016. What was the initial idea? The core idea behind our initiative is not limited to providing access to fertilizers, but aims to profoundly transform Rwandan agriculture by integrating technology, science and innovative solutions to improve soil health in the long term. Our goal is to support a just and rapid transition towards sustainable agriculture, respectful of the environment and natural resources. In this perspective, we have established a strategic partnership with the Government of Rwanda to contribute to improving the country's food security. This partnership aims to support farmers in adopting agricultural practices that promote productivity while preserving ecosystems. The construction of our blending plant represe nts a crucial step in realizing this vision. It symbolizes our holistic approach, which goes far beyond the simple distribution of fertilizers. Indeed, we offer customized fertilizers adapted to the specific needs of soils and crops, and we integrate advanced digital solutions to support farmers in their daily decision-making. In addition, our investment in research and development (R and D) is essential to optimize the entire supply chain. By combining these efforts, we aim not only to strengthen agricultural productivity, but also to create innovative solutions to meet future agricultural challenges and ensure sustainable food security for generations to come. How has the project evolved since the factory was built? Since its start-up in late 2023, our plant has positioned itself as a key player in Rwanda's agricultural sector. With an annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes and a storage capacity of 25,000 tonnes, this modern facility is designed to efficiently meet the growing needs of farmers acr oss the country. The plant is also equipped with a state-of-the-art high-tech laboratory, capable of analyzing both soils and fertilizers, ensuring optimum quality and personalized recommendations for each type of crop. Our approach is based on a fundamental principle that we call the '4Rs': providing the right nutrients, at the right dosage, in the right place, and at the right time. This strategy is essential to maximizing agricultural productivity while preserving soil health and limiting environmental impact. By adopting this rigorous scientific method, we are committed to supporting farmers in optimizing their practices, in order to strengthen food security and the sustainable development of the agricultural sector. In just one year, our company has seen a significant improvement in agricultural productivity, demonstrating the effectiveness of our customized fertilizers. For example, a farmer in the Western Region, specializing in potato cultivation, saw her production increase from 16-18 tons to 20 to ns per season, thanks to the use of our products. This result not only underlines the quality of our fertilizers, but also our commitment to supporting farmers in optimizing their harvests and increasing their income. Our partnership with the Rwandan government has been instrumental in significantly improving agricultural productivity, particularly for crops such as maize. In 2023, this collaboration led to an impressive 30% increase in maize production, from 390,979 tons in the 2023A season to 507,985 tons in the 2024A season. This remarkable progress reflects the effectiveness of our approach to agricultural innovation and support for local farmers. In parallel, fertilizer use in Rwanda has also seen a notable increase, from 59.6% to 64.5% adoption among farmers. This fertilizer penetration rate represents a first in the region, illustrating the concrete results of joint efforts to make agricultural inputs more accessible and encourage their large-scale use. In parallel with this progress in the fields, ou r factory has also played a key role in the socio-economic development of the region. Since its creation, it has generated 50 direct jobs, with a majority of women among its staff. This inclusive recruitment reflects our determination to promote gender equality and provide economic opportunities to often underrepresented groups. Our mission goes beyond simple job creation. We actively invest in the skills development of local workers, providing them with appropriate training. The objective is to prepare a new generation of talents capable of taking responsibility in the fertilizer industry and contributing to the growth of the sector in Rwanda. It is with this in mind that we have established a strategic partnership with the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) in Bugesera. This partnership allows us to regularly host students for practical internships within our company. These young talents thus benefit from on-the-job training, with the prospect of employment opportunities at the end of th eir studies. This collaboration with RICA illustrates our desire to build a sustainable ecosystem where agricultural innovation and human development go hand in hand. Rwanda is a small, landlocked country, which does not make it easy to develop agro-industry. How did you respond to these challenges? One of the main challenges Rwanda faces is its geographical isolation, making the supply chain more complex and costly. Recognizing this reality, we have focused our efforts on the local market by multiplying our distribution centers across the country. This expansion makes our products more accessible to farmers, while reducing delivery times and costs. At the same time, we have increased our production capacity to meet not only domestic demand, but also that of neighboring markets, such as Uganda, Burundi, and the DRC. This regional expansion strengthens Rwanda's position as an agricultural hub in the region, while promoting cross-border trade in quality agricultural products. Another crucial aspect of our s trategy is the promotion of our flagship product, 'Tweze', a locally manufactured fertilizer whose name means 'more yield' in Kinyarwanda. This product has been extremely well received by farmers, who express particular pride in supporting a national product. The adoption of Tweze by the farming community is a testament to the growing confidence in local solutions to improve yields and strengthen food security in Rwanda and beyond. The company now offers 'made in Rwanda' products on the local market. In terms of price and accessibility, how do you differentiate yourself from the previous solutions available? Our core mission is to provide highly customized fertilizers, specifically tailored to the unique soil and crop needs in Rwanda. Through a scientific approach and in-depth soil analysis, we have not only improved crop quality but also managed to reduce affordability costs for farmers. This winning combination increases yields while making our solutions more affordable and accessible to a larger share of the farming population. For the coming year, we aim to expand our product portfolio to develop even more targeted solutions, tailored to the agroecological specificities of each region of the country. This expansion is part of our vision of creating a sustainable agricultural ecosystem, where each farmer can access the nutrients best suited to their land, maximizing productivity while preserving long-term soil health. Do you have any plans to expand your activities beyond Rwanda? For now, we are focusing on the Rwandan market, but we have made our first export to the DRC. We aim to serve neighboring countries, including Uganda, DRC, and Burundi, relying on local solutions to meet the specific needs of each region. In addition, OCP AFRICA, is also firmly established in the region through its offices in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Zambia. We also have bonded stocks in Mozambique, which allows us to more effectively support supply chains and meet the needs of farmers across the East and Southern Africa re gion. Rwanda is not spared from climate change. How do you support local stakeholders to help them anticipate and produce better? At OCP, research and development (R and D) is at the heart of our strategy. We strongly believe in the power of innovation, technology and science to drive meaningful change in the agricultural sector. As a global leader in plant nutrition solutions and phosphate fertilizers, we are investing heavily in creating solutions based on both natural intelligence and new technologies, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). These innovations are essential to transform the agricultural sector and meet global challenges. Among our flagship initiatives, we have developed technological tools such as digital soil mapping and the 'Udongo' application, which provide farmers with personalized information and recommendations on crop management. We are also developing a Geospatial Identification System (GIS) platform, which offers historical data on soil health, crop rotation and yield forecasts. These tools enable farmers to make informed decisions to optimize their yields. By 2025, we plan to introduce seven new fertilizer formulations, in addition to the five already being launched in Rwanda. We are also developing new products based on Triple Super Phosphate (TSP), a phosphorus-rich fertilizer, which will have a significant impact on agricultural productivity while promoting sustainable practices. This R and D approach is reinforced by strategic partnerships with public and private institutions. For example, our digital soil mapping project is carried out in collaboration with the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), while the GIS platform is developed with the Bank of Kigali. This partnership allows the integration of a credit scoring model, thus facilitating real-time risk assessment to grant adapted financing to farmers. We are convinced that the challenges of the agricultural value chain in Rwanda can be addressed through three pillars: capac ity building, inter-sectoral collaboration and targeted investments. It is in this spirit that we launched the innovative OCP School Lab initiative, which is structured around two components. First, we offer free soil tests and fertilizer recommendations to farmers. Second, we provide training on good agricultural practices. To date, we have trained 35,000 farmers and we plan to continue this initiative to reach even more beneficiaries. In addition, in partnership with USAID, we are setting up 'Farmers' Houses', one-stop shops where farmers can access fertilizers, machinery, training and micro-financing solutions. What are the next steps, your medium and long term roadmap? We believe that the future of agriculture in Rwanda will be marked by continuous improvement in productivity and a transition to sustainable practices. Our role is to support this transformation by providing innovative solutions, strengthening local capacities and contributing to the economic development of the country. We are committed for the long term to improving the agricultural ecosystem and supporting the growth of agribusiness in Rwanda. In parallel with our current initiatives, we plan to launch agribusiness activities in several regions of Rwanda to maximize the impact on the entire agricultural value chain. For example, in Nyagatare, we plan to develop projects focused on rice cultivation, while in Gabiro Agribusiness Hub, we will focus on maize. These initiatives aim not only to improve agricultural productivity, but also to integrate processing and marketing activities of the products. Our goal is to create successful local brands that can not only serve the Rwandan market but also expand to neighboring countries such as Uganda, Burundi, DRC. By adding the processing part and developing go-to-market strategies, we want to position these products as references in terms of quality and competitiveness, both at the national and regional levels. Source: Africa News Agency