HARARE, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe is accelerating efforts to achieve fertilizer self-sufficiency by promoting Chinese investment in local production capacity and leveraging its vast coal reserves, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion said on Wednesday.
"The strategy aims to reduce import dependence while building local industrial capacity in chemical processing and related manufacturing sectors," the ministry said in a statement.
Dependence on imported fertilizer exposes Zimbabwe to vulnerabilities in the agricultural sector and threatens food security, as global supply disruptions linked to conflicts in the Middle East drive up import costs, the ministry noted.
The Southern African country now aims to eliminate fertilizer imports within three years by utilizing its vast coal reserves, a crucial raw material for nitrogen-based fertilizers such as ammonia and urea.
Zimbabwe's Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Mthuli Ncube on Wednesday toured a manufacturing plant in Dalian, northeastern China, that is producing industrial equipment for a coal-to-fertilizer manufacturing plant in Norton, Zimbabwe's Mashonaland West Province.
The production plant, developed through a partnership with two other Chinese firms, aims to boost Zimbabwe's fertilizer supply.
Once self-sufficiency is achieved, the country plans to scale up production capacity and export surplus fertilizer to the region, the ministry added.
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