Ethiopia purchased 1.34 million tonnes of fertilizer, exceeding the previous year's supply by 400,000 tonnes, Sophia Kassa, the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture, said.
One of the key priorities of the Ethiopian government in the agricultural sector is to provide farmers with the necessary fertilizers, Kassa said.
Although the initial plan was to get 2.4 million tonnes of fertilizer for the 2017/18 season (Ethiopian calendar), 1.34 million tonnes have already been obtained, the minister noted. Out of this amount, 640,000 tonnes have arrived at the port of Djibouti, and over 400,000 tonnes are currently being distributed across the country.
Kassa added that the efforts to transport the supply from Djibouti are progressing well. The distribution plans are being tailored to meet the needs of the farmers.