• Itracom to build $180M fertilizer plant in Uganda.

• Plant capacity: 250,000 tons; local manure as input.

• Project backs Uganda’s fertilizer expansion, food security goals.
  

A Burundian agribusiness firm, Itracom Fertilizers, has secured government approval to build an organic fertilizer plant in Uganda at a cost of $180 million, a project expected to be completed in 18 months.

According to a report in the local daily Daily Monitor on Thursday, August 21, the factory will be located on a 54-hectare site in the Mpigi district of central Uganda.

The new facility will have an annual production capacity of 250,000 metric tons of fertilizer made from cow manure and complementary minerals. Jeanluc Bigirimana, a representative for Itracom Fertilizers Uganda, said the plant will source most of its raw materials locally, with cow manure collected directly from Ugandan livestock farmers.

A separate agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture guarantees the purchase of the factory’s output, a move that signals the government's commitment to ensuring the availability of fertilizer and meeting local needs with the new project.

Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said the partnership "reflects a mutual interest in fostering sustainable agricultural growth, ensuring food security, and creating economic opportunities for Ugandan farmers." She added that the Itracom plant is "poised to become a cornerstone of Uganda's agricultural transformation."

The project is a key part of Kampala’s broader strategy, which, following the Nairobi Declaration on Fertilizers in May 2024, committed the country to tripling national production and distribution of certified organic and inorganic fertilizers by 2034.

According to the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Uganda's agricultural sector consumed an estimated average of nearly 77,000 metric tons of fertilizer between 2019 and 2023.

The country’s fertilizer use was just 2.6 kg per hectare of arable land in 2022, according to FAO figures. This remains marginal compared to the sub-Saharan African average of 18.2 kg and far below the 50 kg recommended by the 2006 Abuja Declaration on Fertilizers.

Stéphanas Assocle