VISION
The only way to protect the environment, feed the population and lift Africa out of poverty is to increase the sustainability of our methods: we need to ‘farm smart’ and we need to maximise food yield per hectare. A local fertilizer industry is not a luxury – it is a survival imperative. If Africa fails to harness these key resources , then it fails its people and it fails the planet.
African Agronomix (AAX Ltd) aims to produce affordable, accessible fertiliser for Africa in Africa. The mining of the raw agricultural materials and their production into fertiliser will all occur in East, Central and Southern Africa.
The resulting social, environmental and economic benefits will positively affect Africa as a whole, fulfilling the responsibilities AAX has to Africa, its population and its investors. Therefore there are three major advantages to investing in this project – it is a “three-legged stool” as shown in the schematic above.
Social responsibility
Environmental responsibility
Economic responsibility
POVERTY AND HUNGER ERADICATION
Small scale farming is everywhere in Africa, with many individuals growing crops in order to feed their families. Unfortunately, the average operator has insuffcient agricultural knowledge to appreciate the benefit of fertilisers. They also have insufficient funds to afford the foreign fertiliser imports. Providing affordable, accessible fertiliser to these farmers will greatly increase their yields. Therefore enabling them to adequately feed their families and sell excess food for a profit. Thus the provision of our fertiliser will create wealth and food security – helping to eradicate poverty and hunger.
COST REDUCTION
Providing a local fertiliser will also result in independence from international fertiliser imports. In particular, the larger scale farmers who already use fertiliser will benefit from this. Currently, all fertilisers in Africa are forex-based, making these farmers prone to pressure when local currencies devalue. However, the fertiliser company (AAX Ltd) will operate in the same currencies as farmers, so they will not be vulnerable to devaluation. In addition, the cost of transport and distribution of imported fertilisers makes up 30-50% of the overall price. By reducing the distance of transportation, we will be reducing the farmers costs.
CURRENCY STABILITY AND JOBS
African countries as a whole will also benefit from the independence from imports. Firstly, it will ensure currency stabiliy due to alleviation of trade deficits and a balance of payments. It will also lead to enormous job creation in a massive local beneficiation industry – a brilliant alternative to zero-job imports. In turn, it will helpt to build better economies.
Overall we are helping to build happier, well-fed, prosperous populations, less likely to turn to violence and more likely to support the governments that supported them.
DEFORESTATION
Small scale farming is the biggest destroyer of indigenous forests and animal habitat, responsible for 60% of deforestation in Africa. Growing and harvesting crops in unfertilised fields depletes the soil’s nutrients, therefore fertile, virgin land is needed. These farmers adopt a “slash and burn” method on the forest to acquire the new land. The average small-scale farmer is estimated to destroy forests of over 8-15 times his annual cultivation area. These forests take two average human lifetimes to regenerate. These are bleak statistics, as continual deforestation decreases the world’s carbon sinks and biodiversity. It would be irresponsible to let this continue.
Fertiliser use by these farmers will replenish soil nutrients, thus arresting and reversing the deforestation. Therefore, providing permanent access to fertiliser is vital for environmental preservation. AAX Ltd will provide affordable and accessible fertiliser to these farmers. In particular, we will target the region responsible for >5% of gloabal deforestation, helping to alleviate this global issue.
DECREASING CARBON FOOTPRINTS
Decreasing foreign fertiliser imports decreases the transportation required, ultimately decreasing carbon emissions. The raw agricultural resources need to be transported from mines to fertiliser manufacturers and then all the way to African farms. With multiple manufacturing centres across Africa, AAX Ltd can optimise logistics from raw material sources and logistics to regional consumptive agriculture. Therefore, we can greatly reduce transportation requirements and thus carbon footprint.
SEQUESTERING TOXIC EMISSIONS
Copper smelters produce Sulphur Dioxide emissions, which can create acid rain (Suphuric Acid). AAX Ltd will sequester these toxic emissions, yielding a benign, non-toxic agricultural product, Gypsum. We will also sequester toxic Methane emissions from the oil and gas industry to yield essential Nitrogen fertiliser nutrients.
The economic responsibility for AAX is making sure that the company is profitable. This is ensured by the following.
Africa has a very high number of both small-scale and commercial farmers and a very large population to feed. Therefore they have a high demand for good quality, affordable fertiliser that can provide food security. The continent also has plenty of raw agricultural materials that can produce the fertiliser. With the correct enabling environment, a company that can translate these resources into an affordable, accessible fertiliser will be a multi-billion dollar (i.e. annual sales) business. AAX Ltd continues to marshal the Assets, the Skills & the Political Will to materialise the vision.
Additionally, AAX will work with local governments to combat competition from foreign fertiliser companies. These companies are huge and often have support from foreign governments, making them capable of predatory pricing. If we are not protected from this intense competition, our vision may not succeed. However, local governments can put import tariffs and trade barriers in place, ensuring our success in the market and helping us to achieve our aims.