Note: This map shows the gap between fertiliser demand for the 2022 crop year and current availability (as at April 2022).
Except for Benin, the price of phosphate fertilisers rose in all countries in January 2023, notably in Ghana (298%), Gambia (186%), Senegal (184%) and Mali (103%), compared with January 2022. Amplified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the fall in supplies has led to shortages in the region, exacerbating the low levels of fertiliser use already estimated at 20kg/ha, compared with a world average of 146kg/ha per year.
In Senegal, for example, the proportion of households using phosphate fertiliser has fallen by one-third, from 96.4% in 2017 to 30.5% in 2021. The percentage of households using urea follows the same trend, with 48.3% and 12.6%, respectively, over the same period.
The high cost and scarcity of fertilisers is leading to lower yields and higher food production costs, threatening the agricultural progress made in previous years.
This situation is of concern to regional authorities, in particular ECOWAS, which in May 2023 launched an action plan to strengthen the fertiliser sector and improve soil health in West Africa and the Sahel.