IFDC 总裁兼首席执行官 Amit Roy 博士
国际化肥开发中心 (IFDC) 和肯尼亚政府周五签署了一项认证协议，正式确定了他们对该国可持续农业发展的共同承诺。该协议将肯尼亚确立为 IFDC 的“东道国”。 IFDC 表示，它的优先事项是肯尼亚的优先事项——确保肥料、培训和农业技术到达最需要它们的农民手中。
“农业是推动肯尼亚经济发展的引擎，”IFDC 总裁兼首席执行官 Amit Roy 博士说。 “我们与肯尼亚政府的重要合作伙伴关系将使火车头继续轰鸣。”
IFDC 与肯尼亚农业部的合作始于 1990 年代初，合作项目是化肥市场私有化和农业投入市场发展培训项目。该组合很快扩展到解决土壤和作物管理、产出市场和农业企业发展。 2009 年，内罗毕成为 IFDC 东非和南非分部的地区总部。
Roy said that “we must promote the use of fertilizers, improved seeds and other inputs” to drive continued agricultural development. For example, rice farmers in 17 African countries, including Kenya, are using fertilizer deep placement technology to increase yields and incomes by 20% while using 30% less fertilizer. IFDC is also working with the Ministry of Agriculture to transition from “blanket” fertilizer recommendations to site-specific fertilizer blends that address soil nutrient deficiencies in a particular area.
Public-private partnerships are accelerating agro-input market development and linking farmers to viable food markets. Nearly 60 private companies and over 9,000 farmers in Kenya are involved in IFDC’s 2SCALE project. “We act as a bridge between buyers and sellers, enabling farmers to move from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture,” Roy added.
Farmers’ primary points of contact for fertilizers and technical farming advice are agro-dealers. Roy said IFDC’s projects in Kenya have trained nearly 500 agro-dealers. “More than 4,000 agro-dealers in Kenya, and thousands more across the region, are using our AMITSA market information system to receive and share data on agro-inputs. We’re also mapping the information needs of 23 farmer groups – over 9,000 farmers – across the country. This is the first step toward a comprehensive database that will help connect farmers with agribusiness opportunities,” he said.
除了与该部及其机构合作外，IFDC 还与农民团体、农业企业家、非政府组织、大学、种子和肥料公司、食品加工商、银行和小额信贷供应商合作。